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PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
OF
SOCIAL WORK
ForBMrly. Nfttiootl Confctcnce of Cliaritict md Comctioo
AT THE
FORTY-FIFTH ANNUAL SESSION
HELD IN
KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
MAY lS-22p 1918
PERMANENT HEADQUARTERS
315 PLYMOUTH COURT, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
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Copyright
1919
National Conference of Social Work
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PREFACE
I
To comprehend and to report clearly the rapid developments of
the year 1917-18 would seem to have been the first responsibility of the
National Conference of Social Work, assembled at its meeting last May.
The period under review was one of intense activity. Authoritative
plans and data, rather than proposals for debate, seemed to be demanded.
The present volume has some of the rare qualities of a battle pic-
ture. It has been produced, indeed, under some of the handicaps of
war photography. The very assembling of leading participants was a
problem of strategy.
An event incomparable in the history of organized social work in
America has occurred within the period of the last two National Con-
ferences. Such surging oi public opinion and concentration of national
forces as the war has occasi<med have been of profoundest significance
to members of this Conference, concerned as they are with questions of
reform and methods of human improvement.
But, great as are the issues of adjustment, to the conceptions of
the new era, National Conference discussions have not tended toward
indefinite generalization. Aided largely by the system of divisional
organization recently adopted, the Kansas City meeting went further
than its predecessors in the direction of systematic consideration of the
technique of social work.
Chicago, December 15, 1918. W. T. C.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Frontispiece: Portrait of Robert A. Woods, President of the Conference.
Preface lii
A. GENERAL EXERCISES
Opening Meeting
The RegimenUtion of the Free, Robert A. Woods, President of the Con-
ference 8
The Return of the Canadian Soldier to Civil Life, T. B. Kidner 10
Religious Sebvicb
The Church, the Community, and the Present Crisis: Symposium
Rev, Roy B. Guild 17
Rev, Frederic Siedenhnrg 28
Rabbi H, H. Mayer S9
Opening Exbecises
Address of Welcome, O. /. Hill 83
Response, President Woods 84
Closing Exbecises S4
Miscellaneous
Introduction of Hon. I. Tago 88
Health and Social Worlc in Japan, Aiatsujiri Takenouchi 89
I. CHILDREN
Genbeal Session
A Plan of Activity for the Division on Children (Report of Division Com-
mittee), Henry W. Thurston. Chairman 47
Universal Physical Education, Willard S. Small 50
The Childbbn's Yeab and After —Roundlable 62
Community Recreation
A Community Recreation Program for Juveniles, George A. Bellamy 66
Discussion 69
' The National Problem Of Malnutrition Among Chit.drek of School Ace
The Educational Opportunities Presented by the School Luncheon, Sally
Lucas Jean 68
Feeding the Family: A Problem and a Method for Social Workers in War
Time, Michael M. Davis, Jr 75
The Intbb-Relation of Education and Child Welfare: Luncheon 82
Child Protection and Home Care ^
Minimum Standards of Child Protection and Home Care: Informal Dis-
cussion 82
Social Womc in Rural Communities
The Status of Social Work in Rural Communities, H. Ida Curry 88
Discussion 91
The Unmakried Mother and IIer Chiid
A Tentative Outline for a Study on Illegitimacy, Cheney C. Jones 91
Children of Unmarried and of Illegitimate Parents: Recent Legislation in
Minnesota and Elsewhere, Otto W. Davis 94
The Attitude of Married Parents and Social Workers Toward Unmarriid
Parents, Mrs. Frank D. Watson 102
Discussion *. 109
Physical and Mental Diagnosis of School Children
Mental and Physical Diagnosis of School Children (Report of a SubCom-
mittee), Mrs, Helen T. Woollev t09
Psychological Examinations in the Array, Maj, M. E. Haggcrty Ill
II. DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
The Next Step in the Treatment of Girls and Women Offenders, Jessie D.
Hodder 117
Does War Increase Crime? F. W. Blackmar 121
V
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JUVBNILS AND DOMESTIC RELATIONS COUKTS Page
Courts of Domestic Relations, Charles W, Hoffman ISi
Discossion It8
CouBT Methods op Dealing with Girls and Women Chaegeo with Sex
Offenses
lfunici]^al Detention for Women, Jane Deeter ^Ripptn 188
Discussion ISO
Probation and Parole
Current Tendencies in Adult Probation, Edward /. Cooley 140
Some Principles of Parole for Girls, Edith N. Burleigh 147
Discussion » 164
Causes of Delinquency
The Causes of Delinquency (Sub-Committee Report), Bernard Glueck, M. D. 166
Schools and Delinquency, Catherine Brannick, M. D 168
Discussion 167
A Square Deal in the Courts
The Public Defender. Homer Talbot 167
Discussion 171
Prohibition and^ Delinquency: Discussion 178
III. HEALTH
Public Health in War Time, Claude C. Pierce, M. D 170
The Public Health Nurse and the War
Wiar Time Developments in Public Health Nursing, Mrs. Bessie Amerman
Haasis 187
Sanitary Conditions About Military Camps, and Parts Played by the Public
Health Nurse, Marv E. Lent 189
Venereal Diseases and Clinics for Civilians Near Military Camps, Ann Doyle, 198
The Housing Program in War Time
Housing: Its Relation to Social Work, Mrs. Albion Fellows Bacon 194
Conserving Development Increment for the Community, Lawson Purdy.... 801
Discussion 804
IV. PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
Recent Tendencies iu State Supervision and Control; Some Effects of the
World War, Albert Sidney Johnstone 811
Boards of Public Welfare: A System of Government Social Work, L. A.
Halbert 820
The Negro in Relation to Our Public Agencies and Institutions, /. L. Kesler. 280
The People and Their Institutions— iRo«n<ifa6/^
WhiUt Methods of Educating the Public Have Proven Most Effective?
Kenosha B. Sessions, M. D 887
Discussion 889
The County as a Unit in Charity Administration — Roundtable
H, Ida Curry 841
Homer W, Borst 846
William H. Davenport 840
George A. Warfield 860
Discussion 868
Standards of Administration op the County Jail
Reform of Jail Administration in Vermont, Frank H. Tracv 868
Discussion 256
Standards of Administration of the Almshouse
Standards of Administration, Clyde R. McKinnis 867
Hospital Homes. D, L, Edson 868
Standards of Administration, S. I, Meseraull 866
The District Almshouse for Illinois, Annie Hinrichsen 867
Discussion 870
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IirspBCTiOK OF Lbavxnwostr Institutions Pftge
Prison Reform at the United States Disciplinary Barracks, Col Sedgwick Ric9. S71
Statb Boards and Wai Rsubf
The Functions of a State Board, Charles H. Johnson S7ff
V. THE FAMILY
The Contribution of Social Case Work to Democracy, Gertrude Voile 988
War and Familv Solidarity, Mary B. Richmond 887
The American Red Cross, Henry P. Davison 897
Industrial Lxgislation fiou thk Casb Wokkbks' Standpoint
Social Case Workers and Better Industrial Conditions, Shelby Jf. Harrison.. 808
The Social Case Worker and the Enforcement of Industrial Legislation, Edith
AbhoU 818
Discussion 818
Thb Social Sbbvicb Exchange — Roundtable
The Social Service Exchange. Gertrude M. Dickey „ 819
The Value of Registration m the Confidential Exchange to Organizations
which Keep Adequate. Records, Robert C. Dexter. 881
The Value of Kegistration to Organizations which Do Not Keep Adequate
Records, Miss G. L. Button 824
Discussion 838
Social Casb Wobk as Applied Psychology
What Educational Psychology Can Contribute to Case Work with the Nor-
mal Family, Angie L. Kellogg 889
The Kingdom of Evil: -Advantages of an Orderly Approach in Social Case
Analysis. Elmer E. Southard, M. D 884
Discussion 840
HoMB Sbbvicb Vrovlkus— Roundtable
Case Work Above the Ppverty lAnt, Agnes L. Murray 840
Cooperation of the Home Service Department of the American Red Cross
with Other Social Agencies, Harriet B. Anderson 848
Discussion 846
RuBAL lIoicB Sbbvicb Peoblbms: Luncheon 848
, Admin isTBATiON of Mothbbs' Aid
Problems in the Administration of Mothers* Aid, Mary F. Bogue 849
The Family Budget and Its Supervision, Florence Nesbit 869
Discussion, Frank W. Goodhue 865
Family TkSATMBNT and Wab Timb Community V^oauML^—Roundtable 868
VL INDUSTRIAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS
Industrial Rbobganization After the Wab
Introductory Statement, Mrs. Florence Kelley 876
The British Labor Party: Its Program and Aims, S. K. Ratcliffe 876
The Tenant Farmer and Land Monopoly, Elwood Mead 878
The Changing Status of Negro Labor, James Weldon Johnson 883
Pensions, Insubancb and the State
Introductory Statement of Chairman, Edith Abbott 888
State Care for Mothers and Infants, Julia C. Laihrofi 889
The Soldiers' and Sailors' Insurance Acts, 5*. M. Lindsay 898
Discussion 896
' Social Wobx and Radical Economic Movements
The Challenge of Mass Facts to the Social Worker, Hornell Hart 898
-Social Work and the Industrial Revolution, Harold L. Varncy 401
Discussion v 407
Insurance, Pensions, Inheritance
Why Social Workers Should Study the Need of Health Insurance, James
H, Tufts 407
The Problem of Inheritance, Harlan Eugene Read 416
Discussion 418
Labob Pboblbms of tub War
The War and the L W. W., Harold Collendar 480
Discussion 486
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An Indoatrial Program for After the War, R. N, Baldwin 4S6
VII. THE LOCAL COMMUNITY ^
AllBKICANIZATZON
The Necessity for Changes in Americanization Methods, Charles C. Cooper. . 485
Our International Communities and the War, Mrs. Edith Terry Bremer.,., 442
Foreign Born Citizens as Political Assets, Graham Taylor 462
Mobilizing thb Local Community
A Community Store in a Neijghborhood House, John L. Elliott 458
A Community Kitchen in a Neighborhood House, Frances In(fram 469
Organized Leisure as a Factor in Conservation, Carol Aronovici 464
The • Neighborhood Association, LeRoy E, Bowman 465
Discussion 468
Thb Local Community and Military Training Camps
Community Councils of National Defense, .£. L. Burchard 469
Discussion 472
Rural Communities
The Village as a Strategic Unit in Social Progress. Paul L. Vogt 478
The Community Adviser and Rural Communities, R. E. Hieronymus 480
Thb Nbgro and the Local Community
The Negro's Psrt in Racial Cooperation in the Community, Kelly Miller. ... 481
Discussion 484
Thb Rural Community
Rural Centers of Community Activity, Warren H. Wilson 486
Reform in Land Settlement Methods, Elwood Mead 492
Sfbcial Community Units
The Work Accomplished by the Social Unit Organization, Courtenay Din-
widdie 495
Discussion 606
VIII. MENTAL HYGIENE
The Work of the Division of Neuropsychiatry in the Army, Richard H.
Hutchings, M. D 618
Community Control of thb Feebleminded
Desirability of State-wide Survey Before Beginning an Elaborate Program,
G. Floyd Haviland, M. D ?... 622
Regutration, Georqe A. Hastings 527
Instruction, Meta L. Anderson 686
Supervision, Jessie Taft 648
Discussion 650
War Neuroses (Shell Shock) After the War
The Organization of a State Hospital, H. Douglas Singer, M. D 651
Extra-institutional Preparation, Mary C. Jarrett 662
Discussion 664
Fbbblbmindbo Dbunqubnts
Studies in Personality Among Feebleminded Delinquents Seen in Court,
V, V, Anderson, M. D 664
Discussion 671
Legislation
Summarv of Present Legislation on Insanity in Various States, with Program
for Meeting the Present Situation, Edith M, Furbush 672
Discussion ..T 683
IX. ORGANIZATION OF SOCIAL FORCES
The War Chest
The War Chest and the Federation Movement, William J. Norton 689
Discussion .' 696
County Organization
County Organization of Welfare Agencies, Bessie A, MeClenahan 696
Discussion 604
Vlil
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FiVAKciAL Fbdbiatioit Page
When Should Financial Federations Be Started? William C. White 606
Discussion ._ 61S
Social Agencjes and Purlic Opinion
Introductory Statement by the Chairman, Roscoe C. Ediund 614
Methods of Forming Public Opinion Applicable to Social Welfare Publicity,
Robert E. Park 616
Discussion - 622
Statk Organization
Organization of Social Forces of the State, Rufus E. Miles 686
Discussion « 681
X. SOCIAL PROBLEMS OF THE WAR AND RECONSTRUCTION
General Session
Social Work. Standards of Living and the War, George H. Mead 687
Red Cross Reconstruction Work in France as an Example to the United
. States, George W, Simmons 646
World's Food and World Politics, Jane Addams 660
The Girl Problem in War Time — Roundtable
Protective Work for Girls in War Time, Maude E. Miner. ^ 666
Specific Problems in Camp Communities, Jane Deeter Rippitt 666
Work of the Section on Reformatories and Houses of Detention, Martha P.
Falconer 668
How the Public May Help, Katharine B. Davis 678
-^ Discussion ? 674
Future Prospect of Leading War Time Efforts an^ Movements — Roundtable. 676
The Role of the Volunteer in Social Work
Introductory Statement by the Chairman, Amelia Sears 677
War Time Volunteers in Chicago, Leila Houghteling 678
Discussion 680
The New Social Data and Its Use
New Social Data Growing Out of the War, Arthur /. Todd 688
Social Facts and Scientific Social Work, Charles A. Elwood 686
Discussion '. 602
B. BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS
a. Business Organization of the Conference for 1918 697
b. Minutes 698
c. Organization of the Conference for 1919 704
C. INDEX '. ■ 707
IX
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A.
GENERAL EXERCISES
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THE JREGIMENl ATION OF THE FREE
Robert A. Woods, President of the National Conference of Social
Work; Head of South End House, Boston
The National Conference a year ago placed itself in the fullest
accord with the government in the war for elemental justice between
the nations. In this great and terrible day, at what seems more nearly
the crisis of the world than any other moment in history, it meets again
with a still more distinct and ruling purpose. It seeks to gather all the
resources that it can represent for their maximum contribution to the
great cause which has become none other than that of world-wide
humanity.
Extraordinary incitement has come to all our loyal forces as the
breadth and profound significance of their service has been more surely
realized. At first they seemed like merely moderating and assuaging
influences, designed to reduce somewhat the roughness of preparations
for war, and the misery and horror accompanying its prosecution. Soon
it began to be proved that very many of them, whether or not associated
directly with the army and navy or with the industries serving the armed
forces, were able to make material, structural contributions to the actual
organization and promotion of the war itself. The truth has been
rediscovered and far more broadly applied, which was first fully brought
to light by Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War, that "the cause
of humanity is identified with the strength of armies."
One of the deepest cleavages between the two great groups of war-
ring powers today comes of the fact that the Western AUfes are pledged
to the principle, that not only is the aggressively humanized process of
war the only sort consistent with twentieth century civilization, but that
it represents the truly discerning path of national military achievement.
The whole process of preparing for and prosecuting war as practiced by
the Germans is based on the unconscionable theory that, apart from the
mo§t obvious considerations, humanitarian motives are to be relentlessly
excluded. The United States is going to make the final surge which will
decide the war in favor of liberty and humanity. America will carry to
the highest emphasis the kind of warfare which includes the varied results
of our national scheme of social work as turned so comprehensively to
national service. Among the implications to be projected by the right
issue of the war into the future will be a wholly new conviction of the
achieving power of the widening subject matter of this Conference.
Social work, on the other hand, is today hardened and sharpened by
the inflexible resolve to which the democratic nations are committed. It
must do its part with the celerity, the precision, the carried-through effec-
tualness which war demands. It must go forward steeled to its purpose
no less surely than if its personnel were fighting at the front. For years
those nearest like-minded to ourselves in Germany, when they thought
with free minds, have clearly recognized that their only hope lay in an
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4 OBNBRAL BXBRCISBS
unsuccessful war. We can see now that this has been the fact, so far as
Germany is concerned ; and, as by the falling of scales from our eyes, we
realize that the chance of what to us is human progress lies only in pushing
forward every needful military measure toward the overthrow of German
autocracy. It is even true that humanitarian democracy, in the light
of the real character and power of German militarism, may become more
deeply involved in a policy of war to the bitter end than any other body
of opinion and sentiment.
It is in marked fulfillment of our hopes that as, under this ultimate
conviction, the nation has been summoned to its varied duty in the pro-
motion and re-enforcement of the war, such deep dependence has been
placed upon the agencies represented in the Conference. Gladly ren-
dering their contribution to the ranks of the armed forces, to . the
immediately related services, to the departments of the government and
the national and state councils of public defense — they have also in no
slight degree provided the framework by which the civilian life of the
nation has been brought together into a great system wholly unexampled
in the history of the country and representing an achievement on the part
of the American people which, in the light of all the facts, is as consider-
able as the gathering, equipping and training of the armies themselves.
'''The stupendous organization of the nation for relief and social service,"
is a fact which from the distinctive point of view of this Conference is
quite overwhelming in its significance and potency. That so vast social
energies can be elicited and assembled and — ^under the American prin-
ciple of "governing partly by administration, partly by liberty" — so
converged upon the immeasureable but enthralling task, is a matter to
be recorded in a whole new chapter of the evolution of our democracy.
For some years previous to the war period, there has been an encour-
aging tendency on the. part of our social agencies, public and private, to
combine their forces for more economic and more productive service. This
tendency has greatly aided in preparing them for meeting the vast chal-
lenge of the present. Through city federations, state leagues, municipal
and state boards of control, and through several hundred national organ-
izations for which the National Conference serves in some part as clearing-
house, the beginnings were wrought out of such a national synthesis as
peace no less than war demands. The steadily increasing tendency on
the part of all our philanthropic organizations to set their activities over
against the needs and possibilities of the objective community, has been
broadening and deepening the plan and purpose of each, and bringing all
into the sense of a great common cause. It is true that the marked
progress of recent years among the churches, away from sectarianism and
toward unity has come about largely through the pressure upon all alike
of the outside world. In the same way the keen isolations which have
often existed among social workers are beginning to disappear as the
community is a more and more important watchword among us all.
Emphasis upon such tendencies beyond our power to realize is being piled
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THB RBGIMBNTATION OF THE FRBE — ^WOODS 5
up by the war, as they rise through the hierarchy of neighborhood, city,
state, nation. Then comes the response to the wider call of a great
brotherhood of nations. In particular do we all find a sense of inescap-
able fellowship with those who, principally in the name of the Red Cross,
have gone from among us to rescue Belgium from starvation, to minister
to immortal France, to bring help and confidence to Italy at the moment
of her military disaster, and to be integrated into service for the American
army abroad as it grows toward its full and decisive power.
The process of the war has meant to nearly all social agencies in
common a readjustment as radical as that which any of our business
organizations have undergone. A large proportion of the young men
of their staffs have gone gladly into the fighting ranks. A host of young
women have volunteered for service behind the front, and a greater
number is ready on call. Many of our experienced leaders have at a
moment's notice left their established posts and carried their special skill
and training into fields connected with the re-enforcement or the recupera-
tion of the army. Here, too, many others await only the summons of
duty before choosing service having some more immediate bearing upon
the urging forward of the war.
From three of our great fields of activity there have been drawn
not only a large number of individuals but important fabrics of tradition
and going concern. The American Red Cross has naturally wrought
into its inherent organization those physicians and nurses who have been
most closely associated with the interests of the National Conference.
But an even more suggestive fact is that at home and in considerable
measure abroad it owes its remarkable balance, its thorough preparedness,
and its preliminary record of achievement, to the fact that it has appro-
priated and pieced together great sections of the system reaching through-
out the country for the organization of charity. No more serious test of
any voluntary agency has ever been made, and none so quickly and soundly
responded to. In a newer department of war service, the administrative
forces of the National Playground Association are finding the culmination
of their motive in being so largely absorbed into the services of the army.
They are undertaking, with the help of representatives of our neighbor-
hood centres, to protect and enhance the m<orale and buoyant spirit of the
soldiers, not merely as men but as fighting units, by seeing to it that the
whole vicinage into which the soldiers emerge as they leave the camps is
such as to provide for them healthful and ennobling cheer and joy in
their times of relaxation — a remarkable application to the prosecution of
war of a principle in social construction which the last decade or two has
been developing under the lead of our newer agencies of social work.
Perhaps^ most striking of all is the complete absorption into the uniformed
ranks of the greater part of the staff of the national associations for mental
hygiene and for social hygiene, undertakings of only a few years' stand-
ing, whose very vocabulary could not have had currency a decade ago;
with profound emancipating results not only for the virile tone and
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O GENERAL EXERCISES
efEective standards of the army and navy, but toward a permanent higher
level of stamina and sentiment in our communities and throughout 'the
nation from this time forward.
Within similar close range of the foremost problems of sufficiency
at war, lies the service to the government of not a few of those men from
business organizations on the one hand, and from the universities on the
other, who, as volunteers, are acquitting themselves in a. spirit of which
the whole nation is proud. Many of them already in the past have been
of our fellowship. It is a fair question whether all of them have not
acted in part but definitely under an impulse which the volunteer in
social work has largely served to create. In not a few instances, partic-
ularly where new and complicated labor problems in munition work and
ship-building have to be solved, they are within a fidd toward which the
more recent development of interest in the Conference strongly runs.
To many of us those who make a clean and sharp diversion of their
services toward the support of the actual fighting forces are objects of
envy. Men and women responsibly bound up with our regular agencies
and continuous programs are facing anxious personal problems amid
the claims of the war. It sometimes seems that there should be a
universal draft, and that we all should be assigned to such duty as the
exigent needs of the hour demanded. With regard to doctors and
nurses a situation is fast developing in which some balance will have to
be set between the call from the front and the necessities of some of our
local communities. Possibly a priority board could be created which
could establish certain general principles' through which convincing
decisions could be made between the relative claims of the military and
affiliated service on the one hand, and of the nuintenance of the vitality
and morale of the sustaining homie forces on the other. Let it be clearly
understood, in any case, that the imperative quality of the challenge to
personal purpose grows cumulatively stronger as it comes from points
nearer and nearer the front. All the benefit of the doubt goes in that
direction. Our regular agencies, and the individuals that constitute
them, must be prepared, even above others, on due occasion, gladly to
make every last sacrifice for the sake of that final onset and tilt of military
action which will bring the victory of honor and right.
"These ought ye to have done, but not to leave the other undone."
Answering without stint to the call of the most aggressive military
preparation and movement but drawing on those still vast reserves of
personal and material resources that are being devoted to things not
indispensable to the normal life, our regular agencies hold an indisputable
claim for the steady continuance of nearly all of their accustomed work
of community protection and upbuilding. During the stretch of time
through which the war must continue in order to save the country, the
country must be maintained. It must place close after the claims of the
war itself, the demands which the very tragedy of the war makes upon
us of preparedness for the period of reconstruction. But there is a more
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THB REGIMENTATION OF THE FREE — ^WOODS 7
imminent right than these by which many of our agencies have won an
inwrought place in the system of the war itself.
Herbert Spencer says: "The process of militant organization is a
process of regimentation which primarily taking place in the army,
secondarily afiFects the whole community." The first somewhat sporadic
challenge to community regimentation came from the social. workers who
from within the army system sought to secure wholesome recreational
standards for the soldiers, and began from that point of view to test and
challenge the civilian order of things. The whole mood and front of the
army in these respects has begun to register the result impressively; and
through the quick and sure response of many of our community agencies,
it has been the occasion of a new and better order of things affecting the
restraint of the liquor trade and of prostitution, and the promotion in the
interest of the soldier and sailor of many old and new forms of health-
giving community recreation. There has been remarkable depth and
subtlety to that response as its scope has widened. In no previous decade,
certainly in no previous generation, would it have been possible that every
nook and corner of our cities, would have been under the close, responsible,
friendly surveillance of men and women representing much that is best
in our national life — that in this way the dangers to a nation at war
coming from nests of dissipation, of contagious disease, of crime, of
disloyalty, of espionage, of actual resistance to the government, could be
everywhere effectively minimized.
Suggestive of a true national collectivism has been the universal
reply of our varied agencies in every city and town where deliberate
social work exists, to the all-inclusive nation-wide appeals and demands
that the war has made. There can be but few of the thousands of
organizations and institutions represented in the Conference which have
not been more or less deeply and inevitably involved in the interpretation
of the American purpose to our immigrant groups, in the adjustment of
the heavy, endless problems that came with the draft, in local service more
or less closely connected with the Red Cross, in the house-to-house
campaign of education in food conservation, and in the organization of
the local supply and delivery of coal. The first canvass in connection
with the food conservation campaign, in which the task was to enlist
every housewife in the country as a member of the national food admin-
istration, made the most remarkable educational round-up which the
United States has ever seen. Mr. Hoover has said that the results of
this and the later phases of his program indicate an altogether gratifying
capacity of our people for a practically unanimous response to a universal
summons. It is needless to say that so great an enterprise was directed
and led after the manner and spirit of social work, not only in its large
bearings but in the minute detail of individual interpretation and stimulus.
It was the preparedness of that national. army of the constructive
humanities of which this Conference is the exponent that largely not only
made possible a national community formation for the more obvious needs
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8 GBNBRAL EXERCISES
and purposes of war, but served to precipitate a new and special sentiment
of solidarity, a new consciousness of vast associated power for hungian
ends in relation to the war, in the minds of the American people. This
result has been confirmed in the recognition on the part of national and
state councils of defense that an important source of the collective ener-
gies which they are so successfully drawing out and harnessing, lies in
the agencies of social work. This has been especially true of the services
of women in these branches of the national war-time administration.
Largely taken from the ranks of organizations already practiced in com*
munity betterment, they have followed out the standards set for the
simpler undertakings of the women of the United States Sanitary Com-
mission in the Civil War, who promised that supplies "should be sent
forward abundantly, persistently and methodically," and performed what
they promised.
'With a measure of combined gratification and wonder we look at
much that has been brought about through the downright application of
democratic intelligence to our several war-time industrial issues. On the
whole the contention of the social workers — ^in the light of English
experience — that lowered standards for the protection of working
conditions meant the decrease of national power in the national crisis,
has been satisfactorily supported and acted upon. While a proper bal-
ance betwen wages and prices on the average has not been reached, we
have seen the general recognition of the necessity of scaling wages up
and of preventing the rise in living costs, which represents a principle that
from now on can never fade out of our national life. The generous,
unfailing provision for the men of the army and navy and their families,
the scheme of government-aided insurance which has so appealed to their
self-respect and gives so much promise of protecting the nation from the
evils of a pension system — represent the working out of those elements
of economic justice with economic responsibility which are the maxims
of enlightened social work.
It is a quite thrilling aspect of the situation that just when in many
different ways — including a cumulative tax on incomes — the principle is
being established in terms of general sentiment and conviction that those
who have much must reduce their scale of living, it is at the same time
considered axiomatic that those whose standard is below normal must
rise in the scale for the general good. We are like those that dream as
we sec the valleys begin to be exalted, the hills begin to be brought low —
not by the action of bitter and venomous cross-purposes but under the
> united challenge of a nation unselfishly pledged to the triumph of world-
democracy.
The war is our absorbing interest and pursuit. But we also have
a nation soon to be guided through the vast uncertainties of an era of
elemental world reconstruction. In the very midst of our immediate
pressing concerns the question keeps rising : if all these things are now so
possible, so well-nigh achieved — the regularization of employment, the
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THE REGIMENTATION OF THE FREE — ^WOODS 9
establishment of a minimum status of well-being, the reduction of the
favored classes to simplicity of life, the exorcism of industrial conflict and
the allaying of the hatreds of class, race and sect, the concentration of all
minds and all interests upon the increase of the national product, the
elimination of leisure except as a respite from labor — why should it not
always be so? Why not continue on into the years of peace this close,
vast, wholesome organism of service, of fellowship, of creative power?
As the essential accompaniment of such progress, and as a result of
the cleansing influence of the war, are we not fully ready for a large
national program for a truly human administration of our courts, our
reformatories, our prisons; for the wide extension of probation and
parole in a system logical within and thoroughly integrated with all the
preventive and recuperative forces of the open community ; for the liberal
development of hospital service, with that community follow-up work
which is one of the combined triumphs of medical and social science ; for
the re-enforcement of those who are confronting one of the most dis-
turbing aspects of the time as with ever-increasing intelligence they
minister to the mind diseased; for the care in a great pity of the last
unclassified residiam of society in our pauper institutions. Coming at
the chief immediate sources of degeneracy, the completion of the great
anti-alcohol crusade has for us an irresistible compulsion; and the
elimination of the feeble-minded strain from out of our national stock
must soon take its place as one of the foremost articles of discerning
statesmanship.
It is in a growing sense of predestined urgency that we are already
bringing the new-found human alignment, nation-wide, to bear upon the
problem and possibility of carrying little children more safe and sound
through the first scene of a life-time whose coming burdens and opportu-
nities must be immeasureable. Universal physical education and universal
vocational training also force themselves upon us as policies to be urged
forward under a momentum caught from the experiences of the war.
Emphasis on projects of democratic utility must not, however, detract
from increasing emphasis upon the education of children and of our whole
people in the deeper appreciation of all that is pure and lovely and of
good report, in that idealism in which our civilization, has its roots and
through which alone — as the deeper lessons of present history prove —
it can hope to endure. Here must be found those springs of spiritual
power which can bring all our cosmopolitan population into a true
national fellowship, into a common devotion to the America that is to be
— a consummation brought nearer as this great republic has now so com-
pletely laid aside its belated isolation and begun to play its full part under
its highest and best motives among the nations of the earth.
To cany over into the future for its high ends the associated power
which the war at once evolves and compels is a duty so profound that it
stands indistinguishable from the objects of the war itself. That a
country at war is overwhelmed by its own returning armies, whatever
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10 GENERAL EXERCISES
the fortune of war may have been, has been one of the lessons of history.
The present American army, going to the front cleaner than any army
ever went before, holding itself in the sharpest contrast with the revolting
brutality of its opponents, infused with the spirit of an errand of mercy,
holding together in loyal comradeship men of different conditions, races,
creeds, bent solely upon the victory of democracy and that for all men
everywhere, will return as the dominant nucleus of a new responsible and
chivalrous citizenship. From out of the army and all the associated
services will come great numbers of young men whose experience and
vision will make them eager to find opportunities in the marshalled forces
of peace corresponding to those which have absorbed them during the war.
By the growth of a manifold ordered synthesis of social work, with that
shoulder to shoulder re-enforcement to courage and aspiration which
peace can give as powerfully as war, and charged with a motive which
will confirm and glorify that of the war itself, our ranks are being made
ready to receive new recruits of such number and quality as we have not
even hoped before.
For the new awakening that will come, we must be prepared with
wider views, farther aims, keener insights, bolder aspirations. Tagore,
the Hindu poet, has said, "Man is reducing himself to his minimum in
order to make amplest room for his organizations." The test of the
organization which we seek to build must be in its reach toward the
maximum standards of living and of life. Nothing less can draw to
itself the great host of the young men and young women whose whole
careers from henceforth are keyed to the exalted watchwords of the life-
and-death struggle of a world toward the light.
For this great new regimentation of the free which the American
nation is achieving — in apparent conflict with its established tradition — ^we'
cannot find it anywhere in our thought to be afraid. So far from repressing
in the service of the commonwealth the zest of invention, initiative and
selective choice, it must surely enhance the range and power of personality
and of the whole variety of like-minded groups. It is a regimentation of
the free for the free and by the free. It is only a later and riper growth
of liberty and union, one and inseparable, — ^with the vast intention now
of a world-wide application. It is bent upon completing and confirming
the enfranchisement of all peoples everywhere, to be wrought out in
terms of human fulfillment, of the more abundant life in widest com-
monalty spread.
THE RETURN OF THE CANADIAN SOLDIER TO CIVIL
LIFE
T. B. Kidner, Soldiers' Civil Re-establishment Department,
Ottawa, Canada
As the chairman has so well said, though it is a frightful price to
pay, one of the good things that is coming out of the war is that we are
getting together, that we as allies are "alL in it" and are going to stay
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RETURN OF CANADIAN SOLDIER TO CIVIL LIFE — KIDNER 1 1
in It together till we put the dirty job through. I was glad the chairman
gave the title to my remarks that he did * because the title as announced
in the program implies a much wider field than I could deal with this
evening.
Up to the present, our work in Canada has dealt only with the
rehabilitation of the disabled who have come back to us. I like that
word your chairman used earlier tonight — "reconstruction." That is
what we have been doing for the men who have returned to us disabled
by woimds or disease. The problem of the disabled soldier is not a
new one. Nations have faced it before, but the magnitude of the present
conflict and the nature of the armies — on our side at all events — have
made it very much more real and vital than in any other war. It is
not enough that at the end of it we shall reward those men with a medal
and a pension in 'order to show our gratitude. The disabled must be
helped in every way to realize that for them the joy of life still exists,
that the greatest happiness comes from service. We have been trying
to do that with our disabled in Canada.
Old Problems with New Faces
Like a great many other problems which have been shown up by the
war, many of the so-called disabled soldier problems were with us be-
fore the war. The difficulties of dealing with the disabled soldier who
is idle are no more than those of dealing with other men who are idle.
We should give them something to do because of the value of work to
any sick man.
There are some difficulties in the way. There is that natural
feeling on the part of the man that he has done his bit and therefore
the country owes him a living. I prefer to put it that the country owes
him an opportunity to earn a living and should do all possible to put
him in condition so that he may do it. It is natural that the disabled
man should feel depressed, that he should feel that he deserves a living
from his country. That feeling is often increased by the well-meaning
efforts of people who make rather too much of him at first. Of course
nothing is too good for the disabled soldier, but our attitude must not
be that of unwise parents who would give their children too much candy.
Over-praise is bad for the returned soldier and bad for the nation.
Moreover, the men themselves do not like it. Nothing is more repug-
nant to them. I am reminded of a story I told in Boston the last time
I was there, to some ladies who were working in preparation for the
return of wounded men. Some time before that I had visited a hos-
pital where Private Brown was shown to us as an especially interesting
patient. He was trotted out for the benefit of the visitors and displayed
as a hero by the ladies who were running the hospital. As we passed
on to the next ward Private Brown called me back and whispered,
'President Woods had announced that the speaker would "impart to us some of the
specific results of experience in Canada in dealing with one of the most serious problems
growins out of the war, namely, the care and rehabilitation of the wounded soldier."
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12 GENERAL EXERCISES
"Say, for God's sake, can't you get me out of this place?" That is
their attitude. They do not want your pity; they want help. They
want ^anpathy, but wisely directed sympathy. They will resent it
otherwise.
Initial Effort in Canada
It is now nearly three years since the stream of wounded began to
come back. Our men went into action in the spring of 1915. In the
late summer our men began to come home, and preparation was made
to care for them. Starting in with a few small convalescent hospitals,
we have now from coast to coast a series of hospitals, sanatoria, and
convalescent homes devoted to this work. It is necessary that the men
should be near their homes, so our hospitals are scattered from coast
to coast. Although it would be easier to concentrate them in populous
central localities, we have found it necessary to have a larger number
of smaller hospitals strung across the country. At present we have
hospitals on the Atlantic and on the Pacific and all the way between.
A great many other things besides hospitals were necessary. We
had to organize the splendid instinct of the country to welcome these
men. We have organized welcome committees, not only in the home
towns of the men, but all along the railway lines. Employment com-
mittees had to be organized, and in this a splendid response was made
1^ the provinces, for this was recognized to be not only a national duty,
but a provincial, or state, duty as well. Especially have they co-operated
in finding employment for men after recovery. Many other questions
had to be dealt with, such as general aid to the men, all of which has
grown up and been systematized.
Hopeful Review of Situation
I pass on to the great work with which it is my honor to be
associated, the vocational rehabilitation of the disabled. We had very
little in the way of precedent to guide us when we began. France and
England had done little, Germany was not doing much, so that we
had to make our own experiments and our own mistakes. I will tell
you of some of them, and of some of the conclusions at which we have
arrived. When the work of vocational rehabilitation commenced we
had eight or nine hundred men on our hands in Canada. Only the more
seriously disabled are sent back. Probably it will be the same with
your own men. Those with slight disabilities will be cared for in France
and England until they are able to return to the front.
We made a survey of the men and discovered several cheering
things — first, that the number of men who were so disabled that they
would not be able to return to their former occupations was compara-
tively small ; second, that the stories of enormous numbers of men blinded
and dismembered had been greatly exaggerated. To date there are
only fifty-one blinded men out of all the Canadian expeditionary forces.
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RETURN OF CANADIAN SOLDIER TO CIVIL LIFE — KIDNER 13
We have had about 30,000 seriously disabled returned to Canada, and
out of this number less than 1,400 have suffered major amputations.
So that the war cripple is not what we sometimes imagine when we
read the illustrated papers. Fifty-five per cent of the men are suffering
from what may be called medical disabilities, and less than five per
cent have suffered the loss of an arm or a leg.
Those things were redssuring; bad enough though they were, yet it
was good to know what our later figures have borne out, that the problem
of'rehabilitation was not a great one in point of numbers, serious though
it be in other ways. Recently I had the pleasure of showing a group
of gentlemen from Washington through some of our hospitals. At
the end of the fourth day the leader of the group remarked that the
men did not look like war cripples. We had seen in three cities only
four dismembered men. Yesterday between breakfast and luncheon
in the city of St. Louis I saw nine men in the streets who had suffered
the loss of an arm or a leg.
We have a term, which is used also in France to denote the reha-
bilitation and training in new occupations of the more seriously dis-
abled— ^vocational re-education. That forms the bulk of our work. In
the first place, let me say, vocational or industrial re-education at public
expense is not given to every man who returns just because he desires
to take up a new occupation. None of the warring nations is doing that.
It is given only to those whose disabilities will prevent them returning
to their former occupations. Of the disabled men who have returned
to Canada there are less than ten per cent who will require this voca-
tional re-education. The rest will, after a period of treatment in a
hospital, be able to return to their former occupations. But we do
not confine our efforts in the way of vocational training to those men
who cannot return to their former occupations. Every man who is
being treated in hospital is given an opportunity to improve himself
and to take up some line of work during convalescence that will be of
some value to him in after life.
I need not say to an audience like this that work of that kind
should be given in hospital for its therapeutic value. That has been
proven long ago. We took up the work from that point of view. We
believed idleness to be very bad, that the men would deteriorate during
a long period of hospital treatment, often amidst luxurious surroundings.
We have proved that a great many men could learn something which
would enable them to go back to civil occupations in a better earning
position than they held before the war. Already we have large numbers
of men as a result of this work who are earning more money than ever
before. Many kinds of work are offered in the hospitals— classes in
which men can brush up their general education, in which they may
take up light occupations in wood and metal and in various trades;
also in gardening, poultry raising and other outdoor work wherever the
conditions at the hospitd will permit. Many men have been able to
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14 GENERAL EXERCISES
add to their mechanical skill certain theoretical knowledge which has
made it possible for them to take positions of leadership in theit trade
on their return to work.
General Auxiliary Provisions
Two or three things had to be considered before we could take
up re-education in new occupations of the more seriously disabled. First,
we found, as France and England found, that it was necessary to make
it clear to the men that they were not to have their pensions reduced
because of increased earning capacity arising from vocational training.
That is provided for in the pension regulations which say that a man's
pension is based on his disability and will not be affected if his earning
capacity is increased by training subsequent to his injury. Another
thing which had to be provided was some means of maintaining his
family and his dependents during the period of training, for unless
the man is relieved of worry he cannot go heartily into the training and
so get the best out of it. T^^at is provided for in Canada by generous
allowances.
We have not had to consider in Canada the question of making
training for disabled men compulsory. France "tried it and failed. I
see no necessity for it at all. Our men are only too ready if we go at
it in the right way, and early enough, to take up some training which
will enable them once more to become useful citizens. We begin the
process of cheering them up as early as possible, and give them something
to do as early as possible. We have in the hospitals in England, where
our men are first taken when sent from France, our moving pictures,
our literature, by which they learn of this work. As soon as the man
arrives at a hospital in Canada, one of our vocational advisers sees him
and endeavors to arrange that from the first the work done in the
hospital may have some value to him on his return to civil life.
One thing has been much discussed in France and in England and
in Belgium, and that is whether the duty of directing the men towards
some suitable occupation is the job of the medical or of the vocational
specialist. We have joined hands in Canada, and side by side with the
medical adviser is a vocational adviser. It is not solely a medical
problem, nor solely an educational problem, but it is also an industrial
and an economic problem. Every case in Canada is individually dealt
with by the medical officer, the vocational expert, and a third man who
represents the neighborhood interest and is able to advise in regard to
industrial and economic conditions. Every case is decided upon personal
investigation of all the circumstances of the man's life — his education,
industrial history, and so on. The man's own wishes must be taken
into consideration. And, having all that before us, we try to provide
opportunities for beginning the training in the schools which at present
exist in all our hospitals. We have at present 4,000 men receiving
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RETURN OF CANADIAN SOLDIER TO CIVIL LIFE KIDNER 15
training, 1,500 of this number being trained for new occupations, and
the others receiving incidental training during the period' of convales-
cence.
Practical Opportunities and Requirements
There is no such thing as a list of occupations which men suffering
with certain disabilities can take up. That may seem strange, but we
have not found it possible to relate the disabilities of the men to the
trade they should take up. There are so many factors to be considered,
and unfortunately they are all variable factors, and it is impossible to
work out a problem with all the factors variable. After two years*
experience we see no reason to change our mettiod of dealing with each
case individually. Sometimes we make mistakes, and then we change
our plans. One of the first things to think of is the man's former occu-
pation, so that as a result of our work there will be the least possible
economic disturbance, and so that his former experience may be con-
served. It is well to consider next the occupations allied to the man's
former trade. If, however, it is decided that the man should take up
something new, we endeavor to select an occupation which will employ
all the man's remaining abilities, and so train him that he will not be
dependent upon sentiment for holding his position, but will be able to
hold it because of his efficiency in it. We select an occupation in which
he can be efficient, disabled though he is, and then proceed to give him
the best possible training for it.
As to the length of training, that is important. It varies with the
individual. The average length is about six and a half months. We do
not have hard and fast lines. We take as long as necessary. Our in-
struction is individual, as well as our selection in the first place. We
discourage men from taking work at some occupation for which there may
be an enormous demand for the moment, but which, after the war, will
not give much hope for a future. We discourage them from seasonal
jobs, but if a summer occupation is decided upon, provision for some
winter occupation is also made. A great deal of training is given in the
schools attached to the hospitals. Some men complete their training in
the hospital school, when the treatment is prolonged. Then, again, there
should be established a number of special schools where men can be
trained in a variety of occupations.
You are a great deal better off in the United States with your
existing institutions than we are in Canada. You have your technical
schools and will be able to make great use of them. We use such insti-
tutions as we have in several ways. We have taken over wholly two
institutions, and departments of other institutions, but we have learned
this — that the invalided soldier does not mix well with the ordinary
pupil. He needs different courses, a different kind of training. His
training must be more intensive than we have been giving in the ordinary
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16 ■ GENERAL EXERCISES
technical schools. Wc have few cases where our men have gone into
the ordinary courses and done well. A school should be taken over, or
some part of it, and specials courses established.
Perhaps the most hopeful thing we have been able to do is that we
have endeavored by means of simple surveys to discover opportunities for
training men in industries themselves. When we had admitted for trains
ing about four or five hundred men we found the range of occupations
limited. That was due to the fact that the number of occupations for
which training could be given in schools was not very large. Today we
arc training men in 195 different occupations. We have been able to
broaden the scope of opportunities for training by going into the indus-
tries themselves. Wc have found employers only too ready to co-operate.
Out of this, we hope, will come a realization of what can be done for
the disabled from industry in the way of conserving and training their
remaining powers.
Problems for Educators and for Society
One thing must not be forgotten in this connection. The man's
experiences in the army have led him- away from the exercise of self
responsibility. He has to be "de-militarized," so to speak. In our
schools all our instructors are civilians, and so are all our vocational
officers. Though many of them are ex-soldiers, they are not teaching in
uniform, but as civilians, because we want the men to get the civilian
idea back into their heads. The man must learn again to think for him-
self. We therefore surround him as soon as possible with civilian
influences.
There are many other problems. Four thousand five hundred men
have already been discharged from the United States forces because of
tuberculosis — a national problem, apart from the war. The same with
many other things. The personal survey which we make of every re-
turned man all too often reveals an industrial history of drifting from
job to job ; in many cases for the lack of the right kind of school training.
Every one of us who has any contact with this soldier problem at this
time will go back to our ordinary school work with new ideas and new
ways of doing things.
This is a problem, not for the government alone, but for us all.
The returned soldier deserves, the best we can give him, and that is to
give him every opportunity and every assistance to become once more a
useful and, therefore, self-respecting, self-supporting member of the
community.
Our duty to the disabled is clear and I have every confidence that
your great nation will do its duty, whatever it may cost, to those who
may be disabled in this terrific conflict to preserve all that we hold dear
as "free nations" in this world.
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CHURCH, COMMUNITY, CRISIS — GUILD-SIEDENBURG-MAYER 17
THE CHURCH, THE COMMUNITY AND THE PRESENT
CRISIS
I
Rev. Roy B. Guild, D. D., Executive Secretary, Commission on Inter-
Church Federations, Federal Council of the Churches of
Christ in America, New York.
TEXT: Jesu4 of Nasareth. "They led him unto the brow of the bill • * * that
they might cast him down headlong. But he, pasting through the midst of them,
went his way." Luke IV: ^30,
Jesus at Jerusalem. "And when they came unto the place which is called the skull
they crucified him." Luke XXIIl: j.?.
Jesus knew what it costs to love a city. At Nazareth he proclaimed
his mission by quoting the social program of Israel's great prophet. His
old time neighbors who had heard of his fame throughout Galilee pre-
ferred miracles to such a message and they triedv to put him 2o death.
Like every other Jewish lad, Jesus loved another city — ^Jerusalem.
The message diat resulted in his rejection at Nazareth was more fully
and fearlessly proclaimed at Jerusalem, arousing more determined enmity.
But in the great city the loyalty of the common folk made his antagonists
more cautions. At last he put the principles into action by driving the
pious profiteers from the temple. They abominated the preaching. They
hated the practice and this brought the opposition to a climax. They
put Jesus to death.
Before he was put to death Jesus offered two prayers which revealed
his despair and his hope. The first is similar to the cry of despair which
has burst from the lips of many a devoted man and woman whose
efforts have been defeated by the hopeless division of those who should
have been the greatest helpers. The religious forces were divided into
three great sects, Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians. The leaders of
these groups were too much concerned about their organization and their
own leadership to look with pleasure upon the popularity of Jesus. They
saw in this, and in the evident righteousness of his attitude to all ques-
tions, their possible downfall. For this they hated him. Looking upon
Jerusalem, mindful of these divisions, he cried out, "Oh Jerusalem, Jeru-
salem, • ♦ • how often would I • have gathered thy children
together, but ye would not." Only the common hatred of this champion
of the right and the good brought them together.
The hope of Jesus was voiced in the last prayer offered before he
went out to Gethsemane. In an upper room with his chosen friends, he
knew what was soon to take place, and why. But he was looking out
into the future. He prayed for all that would believe upon him through
the faithfulness of his disciples. The same burden that was the cause
of the lament was the cause of the earnest petition. The divided city
was the doomed city. So looking to the future he cried out to Grod,
"I pTdy • ♦ • that they may be one that the world may believe."
Five times in that prayer in one way or another, Jesus expressed his
longing for the unity of the children of the one Father of us all.
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18 GENERAL EXERCISES
Unity Necessary Among Lovers of Righteousness
In a common hatred of the one who went about doing good, these
groups, manipulated by the temple grafters, put Jesus to death. Has
not the time come when a common love for those we would serve should
more strongly unify the religious forces of all communities in service
than others are unified in hatred of the good we would do? Or will
the divisions of the religiously minded defeat the cause of humanity to
which we stand pledged? Shall it be the lament or answered prayers?
The churches must give the answer to the community in this present
crisis.
Disasters arc great levellers. In flood or fire or cyclone, our com-
mon humanity comes to the front as the mere incidents of our life are
cleared away. The one standard is "What is your need ?" So this war,
the greatest catastrophe of human history, is bringing to the front the
great common essentials of human life and causing us to strive only for
these. Changes have come about in our national life, financial, social
and political, which might otherwise have come only after generations
of striving. Whether they will be permanent or not depends on our
ability to appreciate their significance, and our determination to maintain
what is worth while. All these changes are being discussed and will
be discussed in the sessions of the National Conference of Social Work.
This afternoon the chief interest is in the religious changes that are
taking place.
Those who come to us from the battle fields of Europe never refer
to religious matters without speaking of the spirit of unity "which is
everywhere evident. The "Piping Parson," so-named because of his ability
to play the bag-pipes. Chaplain Watt of the Gordon Highlanders, the
Black Watch, in an address in New York, declared that the soldiers did
not care for the various religious shibboleths. The chaplains of all faiths
fraternized with one another and ministered alike to the. wounded and
the dying of all creeds. Similar testimonies come from chaplains, Y. M.
C. A. secretaries, soldiers and correspondents. The chapter in the late
Donald Hankey's book, "A Student in Arms" entitled "The Religion of
the Inarticulate" has already become a classic in the religious records
of this war.
This spirit of unity has been expressed in this country by the giving
of over fifty million dollars for the work of the Young Men's Christian
Association. Religious workers will do well to understand the giving
of the greatest sum ever raised at one time by any single religious organi-
zation. There are two things which explain this substantial approval
of this great undertaking. It stands for religious unity and practical
human service. It is the embodiment of the two great essentials set
forth in the Old Testament and reiterated by Jesus, "Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God and thy neighbor." Two Sundays ago I spent the
day in a hut in a great aviation camp. At eight o'clock and at nine
o'clock a Roman Catholic priest conducted mass in that hut. The second
person I met on entering that building was the Jewish welfare worker.
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whose headquarters were there, and twice during the day as a Protes-
tant minister, I preached the gospel of faith and service to the magni-
ficent men who were preparing to give their lives for America and
humanity. Every hut stands for religious unity. And every hut stands
for service, seven-days-in-the-week service.
And because of this fact the people of all creeds and of no creeds
will in a short 'time give more quickly and more joyously more money
than has yet been given.
Potsdam and Ward Politics
As the religious forces seriously face all the problems at home, will
they be able to unite in community service which will correct our social
wrongs and establish everywhere the social right, as men of many nations
and every creed fight shoulder to shoulder to correct world wrongs?
Will we who stay at home be able to make these communities in which
we live fit habitations for the returning soldiers ? When this war is over,
will we have so lived that we will be worthy neighbors of men who have
offered their all in army and navy ? Remember that these men have met
the supreme test of a man in the task of eliminating from the realm of
the world's politics that for which the Kaiser and the Potsdam gang
stand. He would be the world's political boss and they would be his
ward heelers, with nations as their wards. To be rid of this thing is
our reason for being in the war. It is the menace of our most cherished
political institutions, and all the institutions related to them.
While we are so bitter and so eloquent in our denunciation of
Kaiserism in Berlin, let us remember that nearly every city has its man
or its men who are tarred with the same stick, who are of the same
stripe, about whom are the political gangsters who menace the city's life.
We are nothing short of hyprocrites if we cheer our soldiers as they
march forth to eliminate the Potsdam gang, and have not the courage
or the convictions to purge from our cities every influence which menaces
the physical, moral, and spiritual welfare of our boys and our girls. The
city that complacently endures these conditions in these days and does
not have its Ypres, its Sommes and its Verduns, however the battle may
turn, is not worthy of the men who have gone to France, nor noble
enough to welcome such as may return. In that day the judgment upon
the religious forces will be final. We must get together. We can get
together, and I am here to tell you we are getting together. We still
have a long way to go, but we have started.
Protestant Unity
First, I must speak of the getting together of the Protestant Chris-
tian forces. This is not the getting together in organic unity which is
the earnest wish and hope of many. If that comes about it must be by
our first becoming acquainted. We are becoming acquainted by working
TOGETHER, the best basis of acquaintanceship that has ever been devised.
On the occasion of the forming of the Federation of Churches of Denver,
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the Rt. Rev. Irving P. Johnston, Bishop Coadjutor of the Episcopal
Diocese of Colorado, after referring to the hope of complete Christian
unity said: "In the meantime, let us work together on our agreements."
This is the mood that is making the progress of Christian unity in spirit
and action. It is the unity of a division in the United States Army.
On the opening day of the Third Liberty Loan campaign, I watched
the Fourth Division of the United States Army march through the streets
of Charlotte, N. C. It was one division, but was made up of various
units. As they swung past us we could tell by flags, uniforms and
accoutrements the infantry, the artillery, the calvary, the signal corps,
the ambulance, and the quartermaster's department. Each unit is dis-
tinct, but a part of the whole. Even so, the* churches in most of the
northern cities and some of the southern cities have formed themselves
into inter-church organizations, generally called federations.
Since we entered the war the movement has gone forward more
rapidly than ever before. In such an organization, we may liken the
Baptists to the infantry, the Presbyterians to the cavalry, the Methodists
to the artillery, the Episcopalians to the signal corps, and so down the
line. When all the religious forces are thus mobilized they can fight as
our men fight in France, co-ordinating all their efforts. As signal corps,
artillery, infantry, all move to the battle with the precision of a stop
watch; so the Christian forces must synchronize their attack upon the
strong-holds of sin. When this is done with forethought and fearless
advance, the religious forces of a city become an irresistible power against
which the very gates of hell cannot stand.
The first duty is to mobilize the Protestant churches. This is
coming to be increasingly easy, as there are about thirty cities of 75,000
population or more that are organized and have employed executive
secretaries, who can act as the commanders of these divisions. Gradually
the program of these federations has been standardized so that now there
is no excuse for floundering around in experiments in Christian co-
operation. Two things demand such co-operation. The removal of
influences which militate against the church and home in the right
development of our boys and girls, as well as against the best interest
of every life, and the building up and strengthening of every influence,
condition or institution that will make all living conditions better. That
of course is a large program, but it is the one Jesus asked us to work for
when we pray. "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done one earth as it is
in Heaven."
Interchurch Federations and Community Welfare
This program is increasingly being carried out by the churches co-
operating with one another, and with organizations having to do with
the conununity's life, whether that organization be the city govern-
ment, the bureau of charities, the hospitals, the public schools, or what
else. Co-operation, not duplication, is a basic principle. By such a plan
the Pauline teaching, "Let no man seek his own but each his neigfa-
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bor's good," is made to read : ''Let no church seek its own but each its
neighbor's good." The new slogan for churchmen should be, "Let us
be good neighbors for the good of the neighborhood." To carry out
this program, a new religious order now numbering thirty and soon to
pass into the hundreds has gradually come into existence. So well is
this order established, there will be held this summer the first school
for principles and methods of inter-church work.
St. Paul, Minnesota, is among the last cities to unify the Protes-
tant forces through such an organization. In the initial meeting the
most earnest plea for it was made by the secretary of the United Charities
Knowing that religion is the most vital factor in the rehabilitation of
character, he said he could immediately have the assistance of the Roman
Catholic clergy wherever he had a case that was in any way related to
that church. But if he wished the help of a Protestant church he had
to choose from a hundred or more, and therefore gave up in despair.
In St. Louis this work is well systematized. The representatives
of the Hebrew, Roman Catholic, and Protestant faiths, are in constant
touch with one another, and. with the secretary of the bureau of charities.
In January the Pittsburgh Leader came out with the statement in
glaring headlines, 'Treacher Flays Magistrates." It went on to say that
the Reverend C. R. Zahniser, secretary of the Council of Churches of
Pittsburgh, had made serious charges against the five magistrates ap-
pointed by the newly elected mayor. The paper printed in full the
charges made. It went on to say, that "if these charges were true, the
magistrates named ought to be in jail instead of being where they could
send men to jail. If they were not true, then Dn. Zahniser and the
men who were with him ought to be in jail for defaming good men. In
such a serious matter there is no middle ground."
Under such a leadership as that of Dr. Zahniser the church of Pitts-
burgh is no longer a joke as a dvic force. Fifteen denominations, having
over 200,000 communicants, are in the Council. The program of civic
action is like a Christianized school of ward politicians. The church does
not have a civic spasm and then subside, but is on the job all the time.
I was not surprised, therefore, when I read in the Pittsburgh paper of
February 1st, 1918, that the city council had rejected the five appointees
of the mayor. The interchurch secretary was then asked to address the
Chamber of Cwnmerce at a luncheon at the William Penn Hotel on
"How Pittsburgh May Have Good Magistrates." By co-operating with
other agencies working for decency in city government, the church has
been able to have a morals court established in that city. While this
National Conference was in session in Pittsburgh one year ago I visited
a special court where a magistrate was on trial for malpractice in office,
the charges being brought by those who have won this great moral
victory.
We hear much about juvenile delinquency, and as this war goes on
we will hear a great deal more. This is peculiarly a community problem
in which united church effort is absolutely necessary. The church that
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22 GENEILAL EXERCISES
has let the soldier's boy or girl make a police record in his absence can
never expect to welcome that soldier on his return. It is not enough for
the church to be an announcer of "don'ts" in the realm of amusement.
The church has acquired great proficiency in shutting things up, most of
which ought to be shut up, but it is not so skilled in opening up that which
will take the place. If commercialised amusements have a tendency to
debase and demoralize the youth, the thing to do is to '*beat them to it"
in furnishing amusements that will build up character while entertaining.
This task is being done in a measure by some good people, but the church
must more effectively pull its oars in the recreation boat or be thrown
overboard. In several cities the churches jointly employ a man to repre-
sent them in the juvenile court. What is really needed is to enlist enough
men to make it unnecessary to employ juvenile court workers.
In the fight on vice the united church, in co-operation with other
agencies, has made marked progress. The battle in many places went
slowly until the government stepped in. The greatest victory was won
when the majority of people became convinced that the social evil is not
a necessary evil. It was the vice committee of the Cleveland Federation
that gathered important facts about that city and other cities and pre-
sented them to Mayor Newton D. Baker, asking him to consider them
with a view to eliminating the segregated district. He studied the facts
given to him and made some investigations himself. He came to the
decision which he is now trying to have applied through the Department
of Justice to all cities affecting the personal efficiency of the soldiers. The
church has never before had such an ally in combating this evil. But,
alas, in some cities the church is not so good an ally, because city officials
and public press are on the side of the panderers.
In Philadelphia, the social service committee gathered evidence
which was turned over to the mayor. Nothing was done. More evi-
dence was secured and this was given to the Department of Justice at
Washington. The churches helped the Fosdick Commission. You know
what has happened to the police department of the City of Brotherly
Love. When the churches co-operate with others interested in law
enforcement, this black plague will be banished from our cities.
A Versailles Council of Faiths
It is not enough to have the co-operation of the members of one
great religious body. Having developed unity within these bodies there
must be co-operation between them. Every city in its battle with social
wrongs needs its Versailles Council, where the allies may plan out the
campaign against their common enemy. When the members of the
Protestaqt and the Roman Catholic churches and the Jewish synagogue
follow acknowledged leaders, an invincible army is formed. In such an
alliance nothing of loyalty is lost by any body participating. The loyalty
for denomination or church is merged in the larger loyalty for the
common good.
When that last long trench on the Western front is filled, the
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soldiers of all natibns, of all races and of all creeds are one in the great
sacrifice they have made on humanity's altar. But a need^ world and our
sin cursed cities are crying out for oneness on the part of those of us
who are alive and dwelling in these cities. As one has well said: "If
some of us can die together, surely we can live together."
The day is at hand when the lovers of good and of God must be
more strongly knit together in that common love, than are those who in
their hate make war upon that good and our God. As allies meeting in
this Versailles G)uncil of social workers, let us pledge our allegiance to
each other, and take the vow rto fight it out to the endr Then, as war-
riors at home, we will make our cities safe for the democracy that has
been made more sacred than ever by the blood that has been shed for it,
and in all our cities, little children shall grow to be strong men and pure
women. Let Kipling give to us our parting- word.
"It aint the guns nor armament, nor funds that they can pay.
But the close co-operation that makes them win the day.
It aint the individual, nor armies as a whole, but
The everlasting team-play of every blooming soul."
II
Rev. Frederic Siedenburg, S, J. Dean of Loyola School of Sociology,
Chicago
In discussing the question of the relations of church, con^munity and
the present crisis, I take it to mean : What service can the church render
to the community; especially, what will it render in this critical hour of
the world's history? Now the church and the state are two distinct socie-
ties, with two distinct ends or purposes. The church has for its end the
spiritual good of man; the state, the material good of man. Both are
perfect societies, independent of each other because they have in them-
selves the power and the means to carry out their own purposes. But
by their natures they travel in parallel lines, assist and supplement each
other because the common object of their concern, man, is both matter
and spirit and so compounded that spirit and matter mutually react upon
each other. Hence^ the nature and function of the church, while pri-
marily and before all spiritual, can be, and as history shows always has
been, of supreme service to the state or the community, and this has
been especially true in the ever recurring hours of the world's trials.
I shall speak of the hfstoric church, begun in the old law and com-
pleted in the new. Time will not allow me to say much about the old
dispensation, but all the world now knows that Moses was only less
great as a social teacher than as a God-annointed religious leader, and
that the Jewish people were exalted in proportion as they were faithful
to the law of Jehovah. The tablets of Mount Sinai have ever been
the foundation stones of civilization, and without them the world would
sink back into its primitive oblivion. In the fullness of time, Christ the
Master came, — came to perfect, not to destroy; he united love to justice
and tempered the law with mercy. To the commandments of Sinai he
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added the Sermon on the Mount, the keystone of the complete arch of
civilization. The commandments are the precepts of duty; die beatitudes
are the counsels of perfection. The first are essential to society; the
second are vital to its perfection.
Now the church is the abiding presence of the Master; endowed
with his power, and delegated with his mission, it perpetuates his doc-
trine and traditions. The church, to be true to its divine exemplar, must
help the community in its day as Christ helped in his day.
Christ and Social Reform
Christ's mission was above all a spiritual one. He came to found a
religion, to establish a church which would for all time direct the indi-
vidual to the end for which he was created. In doing this, the church
emphasizes the supremacy of the soul ; it teaches that "it profiteth noth-
ing to gain the whole world if one lose his own soul." But the super-
natural life is built on the natural, and hence the spiritual gospel of the
church must of its nature harmonize with its social program, making
this social program a priceless by-product' of its spiritual gospel. The
soul that is to be saved must work out its salvation in a material body
subject to social environments, and hence an adequate social program
must reckon with the spiritual gospel of the church. By preparing the
individual for the kingdom of heaven, the church makes him the fittest
citizen of the kingdom of earth.
Christ was a reformer, but a religious reformer. As the son of the
living God, he founded a religion that woul3 rebind the creature to the
creator, and the creatures to each other in the perfect harmony of the
divine and natural law. The pillars of society are lawful authority and
the social conscience. The first springs from God and the second from
the brotherhood of man. Christ was a reformer, but not primarily a
social reformer. He did not formulate economic laws, or political
maxims, but by dogmas of belief and by a code of morality he molded
the individual. He taught him law and order, justice and charity; he
taught him his duties as well as his rights; he kept intact the sovereignty
of self, but made wa'r on every form of selfishness. In a word, he ele-
vated the natural social instinct of man and made him an apt unit for
the complex life of society. An honest man, a pure woman, a docile child
are the best assets of any community. With these society itself can rear
its own structure, for weal if it follows justice, for woe if it favors
iniquity.
Christ met and solved the social problems of his day, but he did
more than that ; he laid down fundamental principles that would solve
the social problems of all the ages to come. The religious character of
his gospel, far from turning him away from social problems, inspired him
to leave to posterity principles applicable to every social question. True,
the gospel is not a text book of sociology or political economy. But its
message is of the widest social import and application ; its salutaiy teach-
ings are as true and practical in the complex civilization of Chicago or
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Kansas City today as they were in the simple life of Nazareth or Jeru-
salem twenty centuries ago. Christ did not have a definite social pro-
gram; if he had, it would have been forgotten long ago, for social
problems change with the years and the social solutions of Christ's day
would have been useless in the Middle Ages and unintelligible today.
Even the best program of yesterday may be defective tomorrow. But
principles do not die, and the deathless doctrines of Christ have changed
the face of the earth. Again and again these principles \\^ve healed the
nations in the past, they have not lost in truth or vigor, and if applied
will heal the wounds of the nations today.
Christianity and Civilization
How has Christianity changed the face of the earth and healed the
wounds of the nations? It found society sick and corrupt to the core.
The world was filled with the poor, the unfortunate and the slave; it
was brutalized by a handful of heartless tyrants, as has been well ex-
pressed in the brief phrase of the Roman poet (Lucan) that "The human
race lives for the few." Woman, wife, mother, and child, in whom are
the substance of the present and the hope of the future, were cheap chat-
tels or vain playthings in the hands of their master, man.
To this world, the church proclaimed the substantial equality of all
men, the dignity oif labor and even the blessedness of spiritual poverty.
She proclaimed the common rights of h'fe, liberty and the pursuit of
happiness. Down through the ages, not with fire and sword, but with
the gentleness of inspired words, she bound men into nations by unity
and justice, by peace and love. Down through the ages, in spite of
passion and power, in spite of thrones and principalities, she has im-
pressed her spirit upon an unwilling worid so that it can be said of her
in the words of the Psalmist : "All good has come through her hands."
The history of every nation and even the darkest of that history
shows that Christianity has been the leaven of the world and that its
spirit has found its way even into the ranks of its enemies; unconsciously
they have imbibed its spirit, and often what they are pleased to call
"humanity" is but the bloom or flower of a Christian root or branch.
Whatever is worth while in civilization is linked to Christianity and
wherever civilization has failed it has broken that golden bond.
The service of the church to the community has been primarily to
protect from the greed of power the rights and the liberties of society.
Like her divine founder, she has always thro'ugh the centuries had com-
passion on the multitude. The primitive church fought the despotism
of pagan emperors and her martyrs sealed with their blood the charter of
man's rights. After three hundred years of persecution, the church
received these emperors into her bosom, but she bade them respect the
rights of her children. When Theodosius became a tyrant, St. Ambrose
of Milan drove him from the portals of the church ; and when Arcadius
betrayed his people, St. Chrysostom of Constantinople exposed him to
the world.
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GENERAL EXERCISES
When Attilla and his Huns threatened the civilization of the fifth
century, it was a pope, Leo the Great, who checked his Vandal hordes.
And so down the pages of history we read how Alexander VII defied
Barbarossa, and how Gregory VII triumphed over Philip I of France
and Henry IV of Germany and vindicated the rights of the people as
well as those of the church. Again it was a bishop of the church, Stephen
Langton, who inspired the barons of Runnymede to force from King
John the Magna Charta, the liberties of England and of the whole
world. It was the church that transmitted to us the body of our civil
law, habeas corpus, trial by jury and no taxation without the censent of
the taxed.
The church again was the defense and the hope of Europe in the
struggle gainst Moslem, and when the infidel invader threatened civili-
zation, it was the triumph of the Cross over the Crescent that again made
the world iree.
The political influence of the church, though much constrained in
modem times, has nevertheless been felt in every age and in every land.
Because the White Shepherd of Christendom on the banks of the Tiber,
is the natural as well as the God-given arbiter of nations, the nations
have recognized him in the past and must recognize him today. Modern
governments, even Jean Jacques Rosseau admitted, "owe to Christianity
their stability and the escape from frequent revolutions and that by en-
lightening the minds and softening the manners of nations Christianity
has spared them oceans of blood."
And who shall recount the social services of the church? During the
wars and upheavals which ravaged Europe century after century, she
built every bulwark to defend the weak and the persecuted ; she secured
the right of sanctuary to the oppressed; she enacted canons against the
wanton waste of human life; she instituted the Truce of God, which
arrested the cruelties of war during the latter part of each week. Thus
was the church ever the champion of the weaker nations and members of
society; she stood between the Roman master and his slave; between the
feudal baron and his serf, as she stands today between the profiteering
capitalist and the exploited wage-earner. To the individual the church
has ever been the messenger of mercy and love. From the days of the
deacons of the apostolic church to the present hour, the crowning glory
of the church has been her charitable and correctional works, her com-
munities, her guilds, her religious orders, her jtsylums, her hospitals and
her schools.
All the world acknowledges the church's contribution to the world
of thought and beauty. Her monasteries were the depositaries of the
art, the science, and the literature of the ancient world and the creators
of the art, the science, and the literature of the new, while her popes
and prelates were the constant patrons of education and culture in all
their phases.
But the greatest contribution of the church to society has been the
millions upon millions of her children, just and high-souled, honest and
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CHURCH^ COMMUNITY, CRISIS — GUILD-SIBDBNBURG-MAYER 27
dean with the love of neighbor in their heart. The greatest of these she
has hallowed upon her altars and they are called the Saints of the
Church ; they might with equal truth be called the Heroes of the State.
The Present Crisis
But what can the church do for the community today? She can
do today what she has ever done. At a time when passions are high and
excesses are almost natural, she emphasizes anew the rights and the
duties of citizen and state. She holds aloft the principles of patriotism
for which men are willing to live or to die for country; for which they
are willing to suffer and sacrifice for what is right and just. On account
of these principles she gives her blessing to a devastating war because it
is infinitely better than a degrading peace.
But the best answer of the church's service to the community can
be found in her deeds, which speak louder than words. Today she gives
her sanction and her support to the holy cause of humanity and world
democracy. Through her chaplains she gives morale and the consolations
of religion to the men at the front, so that they find it easy to obey and
sweet to die for their country. At home she prays for victory and for
honorable peace; she holds up the hands of our President and his coun-
selors; she consoles the wives and mothers, who are making the greatest
sacrifices of the war; she puts courage into their hearts and hope into
their breasts, so that with patience they await the hour of ultimate
victory.
Recently our Congress requested the President to recommend a day
• of public humiliation, prayer and fasting to be observed by all our people
with religious solemnity. Accordingly, the President has set aside
Memorial Day, the thirtieth of May, as a day on which we are to ap-
pease the Almighty, "by fasting, humiliation and by praying that he may
forgive our sins and purify our hearts and that we may purpose only
what is in conformity with his holy will." This is a mighty national
profession of faith, a striking national acknowledgment of the function
of the church in the community. If this function is fitting in the critical
times of war, is it less fitting in the normal times of peace ?
This war has also taught us that the world is often blind to real
and true progress. For half a century the whole world, outside of the
positive Christian fold, has worshiped at the shrine of German mate-
rialism and studied in the school of German thought and method. The
philosophy and education of Germany was the last word on these topics
and was not subject to dispute. A German degree was an open sesame
to a professor's chair in any American or British University for Germania
Docet was the accepted shibboleth of the age. German philosophy and
German Kuliur ridiculed the dominion of God or the influence of the
church, because in its self-sufficiency it made science its God and efficiency
its religion. But this mattered naught, until the war opened our eyes
and we saw that its science was false and its efficiency vain.
The cardinal tenet of Teutonic Kultur is the survival of the fittest —
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28 GENERAL EXERCISES
the supreme rule of the superman and the supernation; the elimination
of the smaller and weaker individual or nation. This is the very anti-
thesis of Christian law and practice, in which the humble shall be exalted,
the proud shall be put down and the meek shall possess the earth.
Principles of the Church in the New Day
The war has also made us search our own hearts, and our sincerest
prophets see the handwriting on the wall, and they warn us that much
of our economic and social life is foreign to Christian morality. We are
being-weighed in the balance of the world's crisis and we will be found
wanting if we do not mend our ways.
As a liation we must beget a new national conscience, in which
the collective interests of all must outweigh at all times the private con-
cern of any one. We must make America first in our thoughts, and
first in our deeds; we must make her ideals of justice and equality
supreme over everything; supreme over politics and diplomacy, supreme
over capital and labor, supreme over native and foreign born, supreme
over the white man and the negro.
War is ever a forerunner of changes, and the peace protocol will not
solve the social and economic problems that are sure to arise. Here the
principles of morality are of the highest moment and to apply them
wisely will tax to the utmost both church and state. In the reconstruc-
tion after the war, the two greatest dangers will be radicalism and con-
servatism; the fallacies of the one can not be an excuse for the other; if
we would escape the folly of socialism, we must prevent the crimes of
capitalism.
Absolute equality among men is a physical impossibility, but equality
of opportunity must be made a reality. We must strengthen the ties of
the family, regulate the menace of divorce, hold more sacred the life
of the child, even the unborn. We must guarantee to each child an
education that will fit it to become a self-supporting citizen, and even our
adults, ignorant of our language or our spirit, must be sent to school. To
the training of mind and body we must add the training of the heart and
the will, which make for righteousness and noble living.
In the industrial and commercial world, the gospel of greed, in-
human competition, exploitation, excessive profits, and wastefulness must
cease, and the goal of its energies must be the community and not self.
The wage earner must cease to be a mere cog in the industrial
machine. The indictment of Leo XIII, that "a small number of very
rich men have been able to lay upon the masses of the poor a yoke little
better than slavery itself," must not be renewed. The personal dignity
of the laborer must be recognized; he must live — not merely exist; he
must receive a just wage, he must work under conditions that are human
and in keeping with his aesthetic and moral nature. If this is impossible
for business, let business perish, but let man live.
The new order of things will place new responsibilities upon those
in whose hands are the reins of government. They must regard their
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CHURCH, COMMUNITY, CRISIS — GUILD-SIEDBNBURG-MAYER 29
offices as opportunities for service; and themselves as servants of the com-
munity; the common people must be their chief concern in everything
and their conscience must be their king.
In all this we must not consider merely the material welfare of the
community, for without ideals, without the things of the spirit, material
supremacy will sooner or later be its own undoing, and sooner or later
go the way of all flesh. Nations, like men, live not by bread alone.
These reforms strike at the very roots of our selfish and exaggerated
individualism and will no doubt meet with much opposition. Were we
ruled by a genuine social conscience, these reforms would soon be realized ;
but we must take human nature as we find it. The law of Sinai and the
Sermon of the Mount must be brought home to us by social education
and social laws. But even these alone will not suffice, unless we bring to
bear the moral motives of religion. The force of law will never make us
a great nation, but the law of conscience will. You cannot make a man
honest or a woman chaste by an act of legislation, but you caii do both
by keeping the moral law. The observance of one commandment alone,
"Thou shalt not steal," would abolish one-half of our social abuses, and
most of the other half would surrender to the rest of the decalogue.
Religion in the individual must make legislation for the masses
effective; the church must unite with the community, and working in
unison they will, under God, create a new and nobler nation, in which
all will "render to God the things that are God's, and to Caesar the
things that are Caesar's."
Ill
Rabbi H. H. Mayer, B*nm Jehudah Temple, Kansas City, Missouri
The church, the community, and the war, I interpret as meaning.
What has been and what will be the influence of each of these upon the
others. How is the war going to affect the church ? How has it affected
the church? What are the churches going to do, what service are they
going to fender in the prosecution of the war? What interest is the
community taking, more or less than before, in the church since the war?
Is the community, in its attitude towards the war swayed by the church ?
Is the church modifying its doctrine and its practice in line with demands
of the community stimulated by the war spirit? Is the war sounding the
death-knell of religion, or is it revealing to us that religion is deathless
and indispensable? Finally, are the movements discemable at the present
time in this war and in the changes taking place in the church the effect
of this world conflict, or are they the outgrowth of a ferment that has
been at work in the community and in the church long before the out-
break of hostilities?
Changing Attitude Toward Preachers and the Church
I see very definite results coming from this war, redounding to the
advantage of the church. Before the war we heard frequently that "The
church is doomed," that the days when the church can control the
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30 • GENERAL EXERCISES
thoughts and regulate the lives and command the respect of the people,
are gone by. We have heard that the church, all churches, all denomina-
tions, are disintegrating. A very popular magazine writer in a ver>
widely circulated magazine, in a series of most interesting articles, which
many of you will doubtless remember, laid down the thesis several years
ago that the churches are growing weaker and materialism is growing
stronger, and if the acceleration of that pace that is destroying the
churches is not stopped the churches will disappear. I hated to think
that that was true. It filled me with regret that the church which my
vocation, my training, my experience in life all combined have taught
me to think the most valuable asset in the world, — ^that the church is
losing its hold upon man and is being relegated to the background.
If it was true that the church was becoming weaker and its influence
on the social life of the individual and the community was being dimin-
ished, the war has brought about a change. Among the mighty trans-
formations wrought by the great war, none is more indicative of hopeful
accomplishment than the efifect the war has had in strengthening the
influence of the church.
I do not wish to make these statements as mere abstract propositions.
As workers in the field of social endeavor you want to have concrete
illustrations for every abstract statement. Do you not think that it has
given the church an infinitely higher position in the esteem of the common
man, that the dispatches from abroad after the first brushes of our Amer-
ican soldiers with the outposts of the Germans had taken place, brought
back reports that the Catholic priests had done so nobly, that among the
heroes of the American army mentioned for special commendation were
the names of two Catholic priests who had gone out into the hail of shot
and shell and at the risk of their lives rescued their brother soldiers and
had brought food to them when they needed food in the hour of stress
and trial ? What do you think the soldiers who were ministered to by
these priests, thought of their rescuers and helpers? Do you not realize
that the heroism in the church, the dignity and the manhood of the
priesthood was brought home to them as never before? They used to
joke about the preachers, and say there were three sexes, men, women
and preachers, — ^male, female and ministerial.
It was a poor joke, but it showed the feeling among the common
people that the ministers were not really men, that they were fit only for
pink teas, that they did not know anything about business, that they were
shy and shrinking and reticent, and if faced with a man's duties would
be found deficient. My own experience has been that time and again
after I have presented my ideas and my ideals to my congregation, what-
ever I may have said has been rendered ineffective by the remark of
some well intentioned but misinformed hearer: "The rabbi is not a
business man. He is a dreamer. He does not understand business
necessities." And what has been said to me has been said to preachers of
all denominations. The people have believed that there is a line drawn
between the church and the world, between business and religion, between
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CHURCH^ COMMUNITY, CRISIS GUILD-SIKDEN BURG-MAYER 31
actual life and life as depicted in the Scriptures and portrayed in sermons.
The war is bringing the soldier and the preacher into intimate relation-
ship with one another, and has taught the world the fallacy of this pre-
possession against the preachers of religion, against the ministers at the
altar, against those who have consecrated their lives to the service of God
among men. You should know that the war work of the rabbis and the
preachers, and the priests, has broken down the dividing walls of preju-
dice between them and the people, that ought not to separate them, and
has weakened sectarianism.
We, in America, are all Americans in this war. We are not Cath-
olics, or Protestants or Jews. We are American people and united by
our devotion to the cause of democracy. We feel the bond of union that
ties us together. I have a touching illustration of this. At the beginning
of the war, I read in a French paper an episode that has been repeated
by the American papers and has since been put into verse by an American
poet. The story ran that a French Catholic, dying upon the battlefield,
saw a rabbi and mistook him for a priest, and asked that the rabbi should
give him religious consolation in his dying moments. The rabbi sent for
a crucifix and held the cross before the dying French soldier. Because no
priest was at hand he administered religious consoIatioTi to him. His
prejudices, if he had any, had been broken down. He would not perhaps
have done that before, but under the stress of war and the feeling of a
common humanity, he could not refuse the petition of this dying soldier
of France, and though a Hebrew of the Hebrews, he held the crucifix
before his dying French compatriot and administered the last rites. Surely
such acts will make for sympathy among divergent religious interests.
Surely they will make us feel that in many things we are brothers, even
though about the fundamentals of religion we do not entirely agree.
What about the influence of the war, and of the soldiers and sailoK
through the community, upon the church, in the attitude of the soldier
and sailor towards religion before he is in the thick of the conflict? I
have had boys come to me, who I thought had never had a serious
thought in their lives, and say: "Rabbi, we are glad we have been
drafted. Won't you bless us? Won't you lay your hands on our heads
and give us the three-fold Aaronic benediction?" For years and years
I have been in the ministry and have never had a boy going for a journey
come and ask for the priestly blessing of Aaron. I did not know the
religious sentiment existed in those boys, but I have come to see that in
every human soul there exists a religious longing that finds expression in
the glowing words of the forty-second psalm: "As Pants the Hart for
Cooling Streams When Heated in the Chase, So Longs my Soul for
Thee, O Lord, and Thy Reviving Grace." Our brave boys are not
ashamed to feel that they want to go into the trenches, and into the battle
line with God in their hearts, to slay and be slain, is work that fills them
with loathing and horror, but they nerve themselves for whatever they
may be called upon to do or suffer by resigning themselves, body and
soul, to the mercy of God.
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32 GBNBRAL EXERCISES
The fundamental craving of the human spirit for religion is dis-
playing itself in the attitude of these boys. I bless them, with a lump in
my throat, and then we shake hands, and I watch them go. I have no
doubt this is the common experience of the ministers of other religions,
but from me, as a rabbi, you want to hear the Jewish side. I have gone
to the boys at Camp Funston and have had them write to me : "We
have not been into the house of God for years, but since coming to camp,
we have at least occasionally attended divine service." A social worker
from Chicago said to me the other day, that his sister, a Red Cross
helper in France, has met several Jewish boys over there in the ranks,
and they have asked her when the rabbis are coming over. We have so
few rabbis to go around that only two have so ^ar been sent over. We
hope the number will be increased, but the demand of these boys to have
them shows how this great war has made deep speak unto deep, and the
smothered song of the soul's music again sound forth in glorious anthems
and paeans of praise and faith.
Americanism and the Church ,
Now, what about another aspect of the war in its influence upon my
church? I am, not much interested in the artful tricks and the wire
pulling accidents of politics, either world politics or ward politics. I
believe all of us ought to do our duty as citizens and vote intelligently
and work against the bosses and the machine, but I know very little
about the intrigues and the complexities of practical politics. I trust
this war is going to make the duplicity of backstairs diplomacy and the
machinations of the ward heeler more impossible than ever before. I am
lifted up by the expectation that when America has won this war, petty
chauvinistic politics, peanut politics, in the ward or in the world, will
be utterly impossible. That encourages me and makes me hope that we
will hold out until this sure victory that is coming to us will be con-
clusively achieved.
Political opportunism appeals to some people; it appeals strongly
to the Zionists, it would seem. The Zionists are waiting and working
for some political hide-and-go-seek scheme, some political scheme of give
and take, whereby they may reintegrate a Jewish nation in Palestine.
They exult in the British conquest of Jerusalem, because they indulge in
the dream that England will turn the Holy Land over to them. I am
not a Zionist. Their petty nationalism makes me sad. I am just an
American of the Jewish faith. I take no great interest in the politician's
bag of conjuring tricks, even in reference to Palestinian politics. I am
not anxious to go there. I am not anxious for others to go there to build
up for me and mine a Jewish state. It may be hard for some of you to
realize that among the Jews there are many who do not want to go back
to Palestine. The Zionists are so vociferous and have such a big working
and publicity fund, and the element of romanticism in Zionism appeals
so strongly to good people that they are on the front of the stage all the
time, and we Jews who arc )U5t Americans, are in the background.
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ADDRESS OF WELCOME — HILL 33
I never have believed in the union of church and state. I maintain
the great thing America has taught the world is that we can get along
better without an unholy alliance of church and st^te. You people who
are not of my denomination, you all honor Palestine because it was the
home of the founder of your religion; but you do not want to go there
to make your home. No more do I. I shall feel sorry if the Zionists
succeed, as it seems possible they may. I will have to be protesting all
the time that my nation is not the Judean nation ; I shall have to be pro-
testing my Americanism all the time. For these reasons I am not a
Zionist. All I want to see emanating out of this world war is peace
guaranteed everywhere throughout the world, based upon the firm
foundation of democracy. I hope for democracy in Palestine. I am
glad the British have wrested Palestine from the bloody hand of the
Turk. I believe democracy will be permitted to establish itself there
and that is cause for gratification. Outside of that I have no interest
in the politics of Palestine, or Timbuctoo, or any other place except the
United States.
The war is making religion stronger than it has ever been. Religion
in this terrific upheaval of the nations is not a failure, nor has institutional
religion been entirely unsuccessful. I would not underestimate the fact
that organized religion has, in this fearful crisis, had some failures. In
my own denomination, I could criticize tjie delays that ought not to have
occurred. I could criticize the lack of initiative in our synagogues, which
have remained silent when they should have spoken, and inactive when
they should have taken the lead. But I am not a person t6 examine the
ledger account regularly every day to find out if there is a debit balance.
I try to look for credit balances. Institutional Religion is recognizing
what it can put on the credit side of the account, and is showing real
eagerness to put it there. I have. confidence that during this war, re-
ligion will not lose, but gain, in strength.
Religion will emerge from this war crowned with a diadem of
gloiy, comparable to that which it had when men bowed before re-
ligion as the mistress of their souls, the regulator of their lives, the
controller and director of their emotions.
OPENING EXERCISES
Address of Welcome
O. /. Hill, Vict-Ckoirman, Committee on Arrangements, Kansas City, Missouri.
• On account of the illness of our chairman, Mr. Butler, it devolves upon me as vice-
president of the Committee on Arrangements to open this meeting. I shall not take
much time because you are here to hear the distinguished gentlemen who are to speak.
We of Kansas City want these friends who have come from all comers of the world
almost to understand that Kansas City extends to them a most cordial welcome. We
are glad you are here, not simply because it happens to be a convention, many of which
we have had, but because we are in hearty accord with the work you are trying to do.
We feel that Kansas City in a small way has attem|>ted to carry out some ot the great
principles you are working upon. We point with pride to our Board of Public Welfare
and its work, to our Municipal Farm, to our Boys' Farm, to our Boys' Hotel, and to
many other institutions which we believe represent the spirit of this meeting. We want
yon to understand you have a sympathetic audience.
We are continually Bearing about the efficiency of Germany. That is the one claim
of autocracy, that it is efficient, that it cares for the citizens from the time they
are infants ui the cradle to the graye. I beUeve this great conference ia a challrngs
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34 GENERAL EXERCISES
that we meet these problems as a democracy and that we will do it in a more intelligent
and efficient manner than can be done in any other country in the world.
Your President, Mr. Robert A. Woods, needs no introduction to' the delegates
who have come from a distance. The people of Kansas City would do well to observe
the many important activities with which he is connected. To me it is a great pleasure
and honor to officiate in touching off the processes of this great Forty-fifth National
Conference, under the able leadership of Mr. Woods. *
Response to Address of Welcome
President Woods, in response to the welcoming address of Acting Chairman Hill,
said:
It is a pleasure which many of us have eagerly anticipated to accept the hospitality
of your truly beautiful city. We have looked forward to the time when we might learn at
first haiid something of the progress which we have known about and admired, and which
we have in some degree emulated. We welcome particularly the opportunity to come to
the gateway of the great Southwest. When I say that, as one representing those of us
who have come from parts of the country where distances are not so great, I remind
myself that it is difficult for us to understand that Kansas City is somewhere about the
center of the United States. In the hope of getting a better measure of the nation as a
whole, we have come.
We particularly welcome to our meetings not onW the citizens of Kansas City, but
those who have come from west and south oi Kansas City. We hope this conference may
be of some real value in encouraeing and forwarding the marked progress that is being
made throughout the Southwest. We earnestly trust that those who have never attended
this Conference before will feel that this session is in a special sense theirs. We hope very
earnestly that they will raise questions and enter into the discussions. The National
Conference of Social Work, which for so many years was called the National Conference
of Charities and Correction, an4, which is now coming to its forty-fifth anniversary, has
always had a great tradition of freedom of expression. In this way, it has registered each
year a new landmark of vital progress of the great field of social service and unofficial
statesmanship which it represents.
CLOSING EXERCISES
The final feature of the Kansas City Conference was a membership lunch-
eon. This occurred on Wednesday, May 22. The occasion was unique in the
recent history of the Conference. In spite of inclement weather about three
hundred delegates attended, almost entirely from out of town. A splendid
spirit of fellowship was manifested.
The program that followed, with the exception of simple business trans-
actions covered in the minutes, was entirely informal. After a brief introduc-
tory address, President Woods called upon various members to speak. The
following transcription consists only of extracts intended to shoW the general
trend of discussion.
1. Dr, Hastings H. Hart, New York : It has been my privilege for thir-
ty-five years to be connected with the National Conference. I have seen its
wonderful evolution from a little group of three or four hundred members.
I remember when we went to Washington for our meeting in 1885 we had a
membership of about four hundred. I have seen it encounter and overcome
many difficulties. The original tradition of this Conference was not to elect as
president anyone who was not a member or a secretary of a state board of
charities. One of our leading members once said that when the Conference
ceased to be controlled by the state boards of charities, its usefulness would
be ended.
When the Conference decided to have a general secretary in 1894, it was
twenty-one years old. I was selected as the first incumbent at the liberal sal-
ary of five hundred dollars per year, and I put in fifteen hundred dollars'
worth of service each year for seven years. That was the transition period.
The next year the tradition as to eligibility was broken and Robert Treat
Paine, a charity organization society man, was put in as president, and there
was a great deal of anxiety at the introduction of these foreign elements into
the Conference, which were surely going to overthrow the whole tradition of
the Conference, — ^these Charity Organization Society workers, and especially
these settlement workers, were very dangerous, very radical, and as for this
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CLOSING EXERCISES 35
newer generation that now comes to discuss housing, and taxation, and the
I. W. W., ^hat would have been sufficient cause in those days to call in the
police. During that seven years we steered a cautious and devious course
between the old traditions that were so preciouS and the newer ideas that had
to come if this Conference was to fulfill its destiny.
Well, the Conference still survives. There arc certain traditions that even
now need to be preserved. The first is that it is a conference. I view with
some anxiety the feeling of some of our members, that it is absolutely neces-
sary for them to adopt a platform and announce it to the world in order that
this Conference may accomplish its mission. I observe that some people in
this meeting have spent hours in debating the points which they are going to
put into a platform. The good old tradition is that this is a conference, a free
platform where everybody who is respectable shall have opportunity to say
what he likes, standing only upon his own authority, and the Conference not
assuming any responsibility for his statements. This Conference has always
held debate and published its Proceedings. You ask for them in any great
library and you will find the librarian perfectly familiar with them.
The best part of the Conference is the personal contact with the real, live
people that are meeting annually and solving the same life problems that are
yours. I wish that I had time to say something about the great men of this
Conference. There were great leaders among us in the early days, men like
Sanborn, Wines, Elmore, Brinckerhoflf, Letchworth, Byers, Hoyt, and the
other great men who did the foundation work of the Conference, and to
whom we owe a great debt which we scarcely realize. There are great figures
among us now, doubtless, and little by little we shall come to realize their
significance.
If we are to succeed in social work the most important thing is that we
shall maintain the teachable spirit; and the other need is the spirit of human-
ity, the human touch, so that we shall realize we are dealing with souls and
not merely with cases.
2. A. M, McDonald, Edmonton, Alta. : We have great reason as Cana-
dian delegates to express our appreciation of the hearty way in which we
have been received into your membership and into your gatherings. I have
wondered during the week whether it would be possible for an equal number
of Americans to be present in a Canadian city and hear as little — practically
nothing — ^that would grate upon national sentiment as we have heard since we
came to Kansas City a week ago. Perhaps you will be interested in knowing
what impressions a Canadian delegate will carry back with him from this
Conference. Some of them are deep and lasting. First, we think of our
unity. A year ago at Pittsburgh some delegates discussed the question of the
advisability of the Canadian social workers forgetting our national Confer-
ence in Social Welfare and becoming simply a part of this Conference. A
majority said "No, we want to be an integral part of the Conference here, but
wc cannot forget our own national conference." I think it would have been a
grievous error if we had made the least suggestion of separating ourselves
from you. You have a great body of social workers such as we cannot have
for some years to come. We find your problems are our problems. In fact,
you are much like us. We are stimulated by what you do. Your utterances
are an inspiration to us.
There are some things, possibly, in Canada that mjght at least appeal to
the imagination of the social workers in the United States. In Manitoba, for
instance, we have the best drafted and worked out Mothers' Assistance bill
that there is on this continent. We have in one of the western provinces per-
haps the best factory law, or at least one that gives the best protection to
women and children that I have been able to find out about anywhere on the
American continent. In that province no woman or child is allowed to work
in factory, store, restaurant, or kindred occupation for less than ten dollars a
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36 GENERAL EXERCISES
week. We arc trying to follow the suggestions that you give us from time
to time.
If the United States is passing through a period of history that marks an
epoch, Canada is facing another. You will understand me when I say that
Canada is now further into the war than are you. We have been in it about
four years, — ^just four times as long as you have been. We could not have
anticipated three years ago what four years of war would mean. , * * *
When you have been through you will know what we think, we social work-
ers, have to do in reconstruction work. It is a tremendous task.
I have gained the impression while at this conference that you feel that
the leaders in your various institutions should learn the lessons taught by this
war, among them that your boys should have military training, and last but
not least, as one speaker said, they should be thoroughly American boys. He
was right. I should say the same in Canada, except that I should say ''thor-
oughly Canadian boys. But is that all? Lloyd George has said that we are
building a bridge into a new world in which open discussion shall take the
place of intrigue, friendliness revived shall take the place of the artificial bar-
riers that have existed between the nations in the past, in which good will
shall take the place of hate and jealousy. I wonder how such a new world
shall be built up, — by making Americans only? And by making Canadians
only? We social workers, in my estimation, should keep this ideal — that it
will be a new world onl}^ as we are able to inoculate the new world citizens
with the idea of international good will and peace and brotherhood.
3. Miss Gertrude Vaile^ Denver : Never before, certainly not in modern
times, has there been a time when everything we are thinking and doing is
being tested as never before have we tested the foundation of things. Politi-
cal and industrial ideals are being changed. Ideals of social life and^ rela-
tionships are being called into question, and certainly the ideals of spiritual
truth, of our religious life, are all in question. We are testing things by
realities. Conventionalities are falling away. We want to know what is true,
what is real, and what are the things we need. Certainly the Conference,
where we can exchange ideas on all these subjects, is of primary importance
if the war is going to be decided right in the end.
4. Mrs, Hugh C. Ward, Kansas City: Kansas City has derived great
benefit and inspiration from the presence of these splendid social workers in
our midst. It was an education in itself to prepare for these meetings and
for your entertainment. We have great civic pride in this mid-western city,
and I am afraid we expected more admiration or commendation for our
attainments than we deserved. . You have put us on the defensive, because
you have intelligently understood and investigated our weak points. But we
thank you for your spirit of investigation that has been on duty day and
night, and for your frank expressions of criticism.
We realize the importance of social work in these war times; we are told
every day that we are fighting this war with two armies; first: the fighting
forces, the army and navy ; second, the army behind the lines, the army at
home. Of this last, the social workers are and must be the leaders. And,
if we were compelled to go into this war without having our military forces
prepared, it is encouraging to think that we are not unprepared to carry on
the work of the second army, the army at home, because for many years we
have had trained social workers who have studied and are familiar with our
social forces and problems.
5. Mrs. Edith Shatto King, New York : I should like to make an appeal
for a real study of the question of the distribution of trained workers in
social service at this time. Let every well organized social agency think
over its force, let the superintendent consider whether he can spare one
worker who is needed in some new service that must be given to a com-
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CLOSING BXBRCISES 37
munity that perhaps has not known what social work was before. I want
to ask that everyone who can spare a trained worker will let us know about
him or her, in order that we may perhaps suggest where that worker can be
of perhaps greater usefulness than at present I should like to see a real
distribution of the trained service of the country, so that everybody might get
proper direction from the people who have thought out what real professional
service is at this time.
5. Alfred Fairbank, St. Louis : We thank you for the example you have
given to the West. Realizing that you have helped us, we go back to our
toil resolved to do our especial jobs the best we can in order that the stun
total of the social work of the country may be carried forward to a successful
conclusion.
6. Lawson Purdy, New York: I have been greatly interested and
pleased that the response of the audience to radical utterances at various
sessions has been hearty and prompt I have been disappointed that in all
the many useful discussions and the many learned and very helpful papers
there has not been a little more attention devoted to those studies from which
we might hope that poverty would be abolished.
7. Jeffrey R. Brackett, Boston : This Conference session, in these times
of renewals or of new movements, has certainly emphasized three thoughts.
The first is that the larger things, opportunities for more health, recreation,
educational vocation, and spiritual development, must ever be kept foremost
in our work. The second thought, a corollary to the first, is that we arc to
practice a larger psychology in our contacts with human beings in distress
of any form. Too often, too many of us in the past have hindered our use-
fulness by a lack of the spirit of real adventure for usefulness. This Con-
ference has certainly emphasized also our recognition that these ways of
social work, expressed in these two thoughts, are not separate ways but that
they widen into one broad highway, where side by side, with mutual helpful-
ness, go those who are aiming primarily to deal with individuals and those
who aim primarily to improve general conditions.
8. Mrs, E, T. Brigham, .the secretary of the Kansas City Committee
on Arrangements, and William T. Cross, general secretary of the National
Conference, made brief addresses.
9. President Woods: On behalf of those of us who come from the
northern and eastern sections of the country, let me say how greatly we have
enjoyed meeting the representatives of the great Southwest One of the
objects of the Conference in coming to Kansas City was not only that the
Conference members might have the satisfaction of learning about many
things achi/eved in Kansas City, but that we might have the opportunity of
coming into acquaintance and friendly fellowship with those who in the
sections of the country beyond Kansas, City are beginning to come into the
privileges of social work. We have met many of these men and women and
hope they will feel permanently attached to the Conference, and will conspire
among themselves and their associates at home to see this attachment kept
up wherever the Conference may meet, so that whatever happens in the
future the Conference will feel it is having effective representation from
this great southwest section of the country.
We are all sorry that our new president. Miss Lathrop, is not here to
participate in the formal ceremony of receiving the gavel. Miss Julia Lathrop
is the settlement worker who has been known in the National Conference
longer than any other. She was the first of our settlement people to be broad
enough to see the meaning, the whole range of the work of the National
Conference. She was the first to master, not only the principles of charity
organization, but the principles of state board work. She has been continu-
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38 GENERAL EXERCISES
ously the vital link between the interests of the National Conference and the
settlement forces, until now it seems inevitable that the settlement workers
should feel themselves a part of the Conference. This is but one of many
reasons why the Conference should be particularly grateful and loyal to Miss
Lathrop. She is doing a great piece of work, and we do not want to add
to her burdens. We all want to help her in assuming this additional respon-
sibility and make it a reinforcement to the historic national service she is
rendering in laying the foundations for the sound life and work of the
coming generation in the great reconstruction period.
10. LeRoy A. Halbert, First Vice-President elect, Kansas City: Mr.
Woods has claimed Miss Lathrop as a representative of the social settlements
in the position she holds, but I was thinking that she was the representative
of the public officials, and that as the head of a great national department
she was magnifying the office of the public official. I hope her term of office
will be one in which there will be a modification in sentiment with regard
to social work in a public office. We have come to the time when there is
going to be a great extension of work of the government in social service,
and we should rejoice in the future extension of it. We should be glad that
we have greater responsibilities and the authority with which to meet these
great questions. If it be true that there are great problems connected with
making this government service efficient, instead of shying away we should
face them courageously, with the intention of solving them.
SOCIAL WORK IN JAPAN
The Hon, L Togo, Director of Social Welfare of Japan
Upon being introduced to the Conference at the evening session,
May 16th, said:
It is really a special privilege and my happy opportunity for me to
be here with you and to be introduced by the persident of this great
association, and to make acquaintance with so many prominent social
workers not only from all over this country, but also from Canada and
other parts of the world.
I came to this country just two months ago, being sent by the
Japanese government to see the activities of social workers in this
country. I visited San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles and Chicago,
where I was so cordially welcomed that words fail me to express my
sincere thanks, by so many eminent social workers that I can not enu-
merate their names here.
As to the social work in our country, Japan, I wish to mention
just a few things; namely, we have in Japan one association of our social
workers, of which the first convention was held last fall in Tokio,
where we had more than 800 delegates together from all parts of our
country, and we welcomed American women and men in that convention.
Since 1908 our government conducts every year a special course for
social workers and gives lectures for their education in social better-
ment. Last year the bureau of aocial welfare was separated from the
prefectural bureau of the Home Department of our government, and
was enlarged extensively.
In Japan there are many institutions for delinquent, dependent and
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SOCIAL WORK m JAPAN — TAKENOUCHI 39
defective children. Fifty-seven schools for delinquent children are sup-
ported by local communities. All other institutions for dependent and
defective children are supported partly by public expenditure, partly by
private contributions.
Though there are, also, many day nurseries, free hospitals, free
lodging houses, playgrounds, the Big Brother's movement and employ-
ment bureaus^ we have still much to be desired in those institutions,
for they are really not so complete as in this country.
America is, indeed, the most wonderful nation in the world. There
are, certainly, many things which have impressed me deeply since my
arrival at San Francisco. I wish to mention here only those which
particularly interested me, namely, first, women s activity in social work.
American women are doing their best as the queens of their families —
the fundamental elements of society ; but also they are doing most splen-
did social work. Second, national prohibition of liquor. Since the
amendment of the federal constitution passed Congress last year, more
than 36 states are willingly ratifying this amendment to the constitu-
tion. It is expected that America — the largest and most wealthy nation
in the world — will become, as you say, bone-dry in the near future.
Most men seem to be fond of drinking by nature, but American gentle-
men are abstaining — really a hard task, but it is most splendidly done.
This is as noteworthy and creditable as is women's work for social
welfare.
I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, again for your cordial welcome
and courtesy, and for many facilities which you are giving me for my
investigations in his country. I wish you also great success in your work
for human welfare throughout the world, and for the safety of
Democracy.
HMLTH AND SOCIAL WORK IN JAPAN*
Matsujiro Takenouchi, M. D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, Im-
perial University, Tokio, Japan
It is a special privilege to be here with you and to speak for a few
minutes about the social condition in Japan. Some ladies and gentlemen
have asked mc : "What is the program of social work in Japan ?" "How
about sanitary conditions in Japan?" Another gentleman asked mc
last Friday at the Municipal Farm of this city : "Is there, in Japan, any
such system of taking care of criminals or prisoners as in this country?"
Most of those questions which have been asked us here can be answered
equally in the affirmative. In answering those questions, we are con-
vinced that some of you are only slightly familiar with the true condition
of our country. I am not speaking of average American people. We are
aware that a thorough understanding of every nation's condition
mutually is a vital necessity for international good will.
I have asked myself why our true condition, either material or
'Address giren before the Division on Health, May 20, 1918.
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40 GBNBRAL BXBRCISBS
intellectual, moral or social, is so hard to be understood by foreign
people — not only by the American people but also by those of other
nations. I think the only cause is that our own language is too hard
to be learned by foreigners. Many reports of all kinds — from our
government or from any of our institutions; many valuable scientific
data — ^political, educational, sociological, written in the Japanese
language, are almost entirely neglected by" foreigners simply because the
Japanese language is too hard for foreigners to learn.
There are many things in Japan which ought to be understood by
foreign people. For instance, in my special line of study, bacteriology,
Japanese investigators have contributed several great discoveries (as in
pathogenic bacteria and parasites and in treatments of some diseases,
which I believe are of great importance for human welfare). These
are very little known by foreign people. Furthermore, some American
people are not familiar, it seems to me, with the system of public educa-
tion in Japan; some of them seem not to be familiar with the system
and program of our social workers in Japan, of which Mr. Tago,
Director of the Bureau of Social Welfare in the Home Department of
the Japanese government, spoke on Thursday.
I believe that I can say truthfully that practically all of the so-
called "movements" which the chairman of the Children's Division,
Mr. Thruston, enumerated last Friday evening in the general session,
have been already considered and discussed keenly in our country. Since
1908 our government has been conducting every year a special course for
social workers, with lectures for their education in social betterment.
Our government tries also to secure all available reports and informa-
tion regarding those problems from all over the world, sending many
specialists to every country in the world, and tries to make use of those
data for improving social conditions, for promotion of happiness of
human races.
We have made examinations covering a long period of years, con-
cerning the health of our school children, not only in the public schools,
but also in higher schools and even in universities, with uniform sched-
ules for the entire country. As to the care of delinquent, dependent
and defective children and child welfare in general, which you are
discussing so keenly in the Conference, we are practicing principles under
a definite program. We are also discussing the problems of the care of
criminals, or men and women offenders, with -just as great enthusiasm
as you are.
As to sanitary conditions in Japan I wish to mention here just a
few facts. We have a fairly safe water supply system in every large
city; for instance, we have in many cities slow sand filtration plants
large enough to provide the citizens of each city with perfectly pure
water.* We have many hygienic laboratories in every prefecture,
properly equipped to make any microscopical examination and biological
experiments. We have an adequate quarantine station in every harbor
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SOCIAL WORK m JAPAM — TAKfiNOUCHl 41
which IS connected directly or indirectly by water with many countries
and islands. We have been for many years vaccinating our people, not
only against smallpox, but also against typhoid and other diseases, of
which Dr. Pierce spoke last Friday. We are also working effectively
toward the control of venereal diseases and tuberculosis.
In other words, almost all programs and problems which you are
discussing here in this Conference, except the Negro and immigration
problems, have been discussed in Japan with the same enthusiasm and
keenness. Most of the social problems are common to every nation, it
seems to me. American social workers seem to be federating some
social agencies and interests. I should like to ask. Why not internation-
alize" social and philanthropic programs, for the sake of the human race,
for the benefit of human beings throughout the worldf
I believe you would be glad to hear of the real progress which our
nation has made in improving sanitary and other social conditions in-
Japan since the door was opened by the American people, you re-
member, just sixty-five years ago. Really, we have made a little prog-
ress in every respect. Much of our progress in civilization is due to the
inspiration- of the American people. Every one of us can thoroughly
appreciate it.
In this connection I should like to express my sincere desire to
have you come to our country, not only in acknowledgement of the
fact that the door of Japan was effectively opened by American people,
but also to open some small doors, which, I believe, are still remaining
entirely shut to the latest and best suggestions. You, ladies and gentle-
men, are so energetic, materially and intellectually, that you have no
trouble at all to come over to Japan, to open the remaining doors, to
help us in human welfare work, to promote the moral and social
standard of all human races, by making co-operation in so-called inter-
national social work.
You can go through Japan with your own language and can make
any investigation in social conditions without any trouble at all, because
educated Japanese people can understand at least one or two foreign
languages. They understand and speak, if not perfectly, the English
language.
Everything that one nation obtains by only reading or hearing
should be compared with the exact results of actual observation and
scientific investigation in other nations. Traveling is the laboratory work
of sociology — practical as well as theoretical.
Come and observe the actual condition in Japan — in the Japan
of today. We shall be very much pleased to welcome you, as inter-
national social workers, to our country. There is no danger — neither in
the water nor in the air — in the Pacific Ocean, Come right away, if
you please, this month, this year, and help us by co-operation to promote
human happiness by adequate programs of international sociology.
There are some things more worth while in Japan for sociological in-
vestigation than the cherry blossoms.
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I.
CHILDREN
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DIVISION COMMITTEE— 1917-18
Chairman
Henry W. Thurston,
School of Philanthropy, New York.
Vice Chairman
Frank D. Loomis
Children's Aid Society, Indianapolis
Secretary
C. C. Carstens
Massachusetts Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Boston.
Grace- Abbott Chicago Wilfred S. Reynolds Chicago
Ralph Barrows Birmingham Rev. Michael J. Scanlan Boston
J. A. Brown Indianapolis Carrie Weaver Smith, M. D
Frederic P. Cabot Boston Gainesville. Tex.
A. Madorah Donahue Baltimore Elsa Uelan Philadelphia
Solomon Lowenstein, M. D New York Florence van Sickler St. Louis
Lilburn G. Merrill, M. D Seattle Mrs. Benjamin West Memphis
Rev. W. A. O'Donnell Philadelphia C. V. Williams Columbus, O.
L. O. Patterson Greenville, S. C. Helen T. Woollcy, Ph.D Cincinnati
44
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TRANSACTIONS
At a meeting of the National Conference at Kansas City, May
15-22, 1918, two hundred and fifty delegates registered as members of
this Division. The Division. Committee, as appointed at the 1917 con-
ference at Pittsburgh, is shown on the opposite page. Ten meetings for
discussion were held, as follows:
PAGES
May 16, 11a. m., "The Children's Year and After'* 62
May 17, 8:15 p* m., "The Development of Work for Chil-
dren, and the Present Opportunity" (general session) .... 47
May 18, 9:15 a. m., "A Community Recreation Program for
Juveniles" 65
May 18, 11 a.m., "The National Problem of Malnutrition
Among Children of School Age" 68
May 18, 12:45 p.m., "Inter-relations of the School and So-
cial Work" 82
May 20, 9:15 a. m., "Minimum Standards of Child Protec-
tion and Home Care" .• 82
May 20, 11 a. m., "Social Work in Rural Communities" 83
May 21, 9:15 a. m., "The Problem of the Unmarried Mother-
and Her Child" 91
May 22, 11 a. m., "Physical and Mental Diagnosis of School
Children" 109
The two meetings on May 20th were joint sessions with the
National Probation Association.
On May 16th, at 12:45, the Division met at luncheon. At 1:45
a business session was held, the chairman being Henry W. Thurston,
of New York, and the secretary, C. C. Carstens, of Boston.
The business. of selecting the Division Committee for the ensuing
year was introduced.
On motion of F. H. Nibecker of Pennsylvania it was voted that
the Division proceed to the. election of two-thirds of the previous
membership.
45
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On motion of H. H. Hart of New York it was voted that the
committee consist of 21 and that the chairman, vice-chairman and sec-
retary be included in the membership.
On motion of Arthur W. Towne of Brooklyn it was voted that
five members be chosen as a nominating committee to nominate 21
members of the Division Committee, two-thirds of them being from
the present membership.
On motion of Otto W. Davis of Minneapolis it was voted that the
chairman and vice-chairman be designated from the Division Com-
mittee.
The chairman then announced the Committee on Nominations, as
follows: Arthur W. Towne, Chairman; Florence Van Sickler, St.
Louis ; Marcus C. Fagg, Jacksonville, Fla. ; W. L. Kuser, Eldora, Iowa ;
Father O'Neill, Rochester, N. Y.
A second business session of the Division was held on May 18th,
at 12:45 p. m., Mr. Thurston presiding.
The report of the Committee on Nominations as made by Mr.
Towne, chairman, was adopted, resulting in the selection of the Divi-
sion Committee as listed in Part B, Sec. 3, appendix of this volume.
(Signed) HENRY W. THURSTON, Chairman.
C. C. CARSTENS, Secretary.
46
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A PLAN FOR CONTINUITY OF ACTIVITY FOR THE
DIVISION ON CHILDREN, OF THE NATIONAL
CONFERENCE
Committee Report, by the Chairman, Henry JV, Thurston, New York
School of Philanthropy
This is the first year in which the Committee on Children has been
created with the prospect of a continuing membership. By the new rules
of organization at least two-thirds of the committee will hold over from
year to year. It is possible also and desirable that the same secretary may
be continued for several years. The opportunity is therefore now offered
to begin a series of programs with some historical perspective that shall
have some coherent plan of continuity during successive years.
Another reason for giving time perspective to the report of the
committee for this year is the fact that twenty-five years have passed
since,' at Chicago in 1893, the Committee on Children presented to the
National Conference a complete volume (XIII-f-320 pp.) entitled,
"History of Child Saving in the United States." This volume included
an introduction by the chairman of the committee and thirteen signed
monographs. The titles and writers were :
Introduction, C. D. Randall, chairman.
The Children's Aid Society of New York; Its History, Plans and Results, Charle»
Loring Brace.
Family Life vs. Institution Life, Miss Sophie E. Minton.
The Massachusetts System of Caring for State Minor Wards, Mrs. Anne B.
Richardson.
Non-sectarian Endowed Child-saving Institutions, Lyman P. Alden.
The Kindergarten in Its Bearings Upon Crime, Pauperism and Insanity, Mrs.
Sarah B. Cooper.
Saving the Children; Sixteen Years^ Work Among the Dependent Youth of
Chicago, Oscar L. Dudley.
The History of Child-saving Work in Connecticut, Mrs. Virginia T. Smith.
Children's Homes in Ohio, S. J. Hathaway.
Child-Saving Work in Pennsylvania, Homer Folks.
The History of Child-saving Work in the State of New York, William Pryor
Letchworth.
State Public Schools for Dependent and Neglected Children, G. A. Merrill.
Statement from the Trustees of the State Primary and Reform Schools of Massa-
chusetts, Mrs. Glendower Evans.
The Catholic Protectory of New York; Its Spirit and Its Workings from Its
Origin to the Present. (Appendix.)
It will be noted that all of these papers, except the one on the
kindergarten, related to the care of dependent, neglected, defective or
delinquent children. The chairman said of them :
The monographs in this volume have been prepared at the request of this com*
mittee. The writers are well known, and their aoility to write on the several subjects
treated by them will be conceded, p. vii.
There is no effort in the work to produce a continuous history of child saving
in the United States.
We judge mainly by the greater movements in social history. In the history of
child saving in this country, especially since the organization of this National Con-
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48 CHILDREN
ference, there have been certain prominent movements which have had much to do
in determining methods in child saving. The object of this volume is to present
some of these principal movements, and in a form where they can be, in outline,
examined and contrasted. P> v.
The highest interests of the State and the future welfare of the children are
deeply involved in the proper treatment of delinquent and dependent children. Being
so convinced this committee has undertaken in this volume to call a more extendea
attention to the subject of child saving than could be given in a brief report in the
convention, with the hope that this effort may lead to a more extended examination
of different methods, to th^ end that the best system will become more an exact science
than now. Allowing for the unlike conditions in the different States, there must be
an ideal system, which, with modifications to suit conditions, wrill come to be accepted
and adopted generally.
In a word, the most significant work for children in the United
States during the first twenty years of the Conference, from 1873 to
1893, as seen and interpreted by the Committee on Children in 1893, had
been to save fairly distinct classes or groups of dependent, neglected and
delinquent children, and the goal in method most clearly held up before
the eyes of the Conference was some co-ordinated, uniform system of
child saving that could be adopted as a whole by every state.
Contributions of the Nineteenth Century
This statement of the child welfare situation from 1873 to 1893
may well be supplemented by a brief summary of the most important
things that had been done for children during the whole Nineteenth
Century. In brief these are :
1. The establishment and maintenance of separate institutions for the
care of the separate classes or groups of handicapped children found
at the beginning of the Nineteenth Century in mixed almshouses
and jails, in inadequate Homes and in the streets and alleys. For
example :
(a) orphan asylums
(b) institutions for the blind
(c) institutions for the deaf
(d) institutions for the crippled
(e) institutions for the low grade feebleminded
(f) institutions for the epileptic
(g) reformatories and industrial schools for delinquents.
2. The substitution of the beginnings of placing-out and boarding-out
of dependent, neglected and delinquent children under supervision
for the old indenture and apprenticeship of these children without
supervision.
3. The beginnings of separate parts of our present juvenile court system
in the form of
(a) probation
(b) separation of children from adults in court and under de-
tention.
4. The establishment of societies for the prevention of cruelty to chil-
dren.
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PLAN OF ACnVITY FOR DIVISION ON CHILDREN — ^THURSTON 49
5. The beginnings of compulsory school attendance.
6. The beginnings of child labor legislation.
In other words, the public or social work for children for a large
part of the Nineteenth Century was chiefly confined to the separation
from the community of class after class of the children who were specially
afflicted by some outstanding handicap like homelessness, neglect, blind-
ness, deafness, crippled bodies, imbecile minds, delinquency, etc. It was
for these classes of needy children that the chairman of the children's
committee in 1893 was seeking an ideal system that could be adopted
by the states generally.
It was also these handicapped classes of children that the chairman
of the children's committee in 1915, Mr. C. C. Carstens, had in mind
when he prepared his masterly report for the Baltimore Conference on
A Community Plan in Children s Work, These quotations from his
introduction, entitled An Outline of the Task, show the trend of his
thought at that time:
The diversity of race, of social interests and of political development, which is
almost the most important feature to be noticed when we come to examine the
Solitical and social institutions of the United States, have led to a diversity in chil-
ren's laws and children's institutions that is to the casual student and beginner in
social work positively bewildering.
For these many years diversity of method has been the most noticeable factor in
children's work in the various states, but long steps have been taken in the develop-
ment of a national spirit, and our social institutions are beginning to feel an impetus
leading them aHo to consider ways and means that are national in their form and scope
if not federal in their scheme of organization.
In the development of children's work in the United States, it is the opinion
of many who have been active in one or the other phase of the suDJect, that the time
has come for giving shape to some general plan which shall have gathered together the
successful experiences of various states and cities, shall weave them into a harmo-
nious whole and make it possible for those who are working at the development of
our various institutions in our newer communities, or who are interested in reshaping
the children's institutions of the older States, to see what various forms of service
it is necessary for communities to provide for the proper safeguarding of the chil-
dren's interests.
But while the thought of Mr. Carstens was concerned primarily
with the problem of a better co-ordinated system of care for the specially
handicapped children whom he mentions farther on in his report, namely,
dependent, neglected, defective and delinquent children, his thought was
also reaching out toward the whole problem of safeguarding "children's
interests" in general. He shows this specifically by adding to the old
classes of specially handicapped children already mentioned, further dis-
cussion of "infant care" and "mtedical inspection" in schools, both of
which concern not merely some children, but 'all children.
At the Pittsburgh Conference in 1917 this forward reach of the
thought of Mr. Carstens was developed further in his paper on The
Development of State Programs for Child Welfare.
Once again it is the same familiar classes of specially handicapped
children that the chairman of the children's committee at the Pittsburgh
Conference of 1917, Mr. Wilfred S. Reynolds, had in mind when he
proposed his suggestive Plan for Co-ordinated Conferences on Child
Welfare. But to the four familiar classes of dependent, neglected, de-
linquent and defective children as units for committees and 'C«nference
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50 CHILDREN
discussion Mr. Reynolds adds legal interests, health, education and labor.
He says: "About these eight groupings of subject matter the various
interests of child welfare cluster."
He, too, IS thinking primarily of the old never- to-be-finished job of
caring for the old familiar group of the specially handicapped children ;
but his thought also goes beyond the old limitations in insisting further
that to understand and prevent the causes of the handicaps of some
children, and to guide ourselves in the treatment of children with these
handicaps we must give attention^ to four other general factors that
concern not only all the handicapped children but all children, namely,
legal activities or processes affecting children, their health, their education
and their labor.
Finally, it is largely to provide care for the old classes of handi-
capped children, that the Children's Code Committees of Ohio and Mis-
souri and Minnesota and other states have deliberated, to devise state
programs and children's codes.
Since 1893, also in addition to the handicapped classes that had re-
ceived special attention before that time, at least three other classes of
specially handicapped children have been singled out for renewed if not
new attention and public care, namely:
1. Border line feeble minded children
2. The children of unmarried parents
3. Tubercular, anemic and underfed children.
The primary interest of humane people in the specially handicapped
children for a hundred years has been only natural. For the next hun-
dred years also it will be merely natural that all the old classes of
specially handicapped children and all new classes of such that we may
discover will make a strong appeal to the hearts and activities of socially
minded people.
But all our controversies over methods will not end and all our
efforts toward ideal and co-ordinated local, state, and national systems
of care for these children will not fully succeed until we recognize two
basic principles that the inherent facts of child nature and current child
welfare efforts are trying their best to teach us, namely :
First : That we cannot really save and bring up aright the handi-
capped children until we learn how to bring to the individualized
needs of each handicapped child all the essentials of welfare upon which
children of normal opportunity thrive.
Second : That we cannot save and bring up aright the handicapped
children in the individualized ways that they need without, at the same
time, learning how to bring to all other children, in ways individualized
according to their needs, the same essentials of child welfare.
In short, we cannot learn how to save and bring up the specially
handicapped without at the same time finding out how to save and bring
up aright all children.
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PLA$I OF ACTIVITY FOR DIVISION ON CHILDREN — ^THURSTON 51
Child Nature and Welfare Movements
What then are some of the inherent facts of child nature and what
are some of the current child welfare activities from which we must
learn what both the handicapped and all other children need?
They are too many to be mentioned by name here, but as illustra-
tions a few may be singled out. Most of them have sprung up since 1893,
though some of them had their roots in the past and had begun to grow
before that time. Many of these activities are significantly referred to
in common speech not as systems but as movements. For example, notable
among such movements are:
The child labor movement
The compulsory education movement
The juvenile court and probation movement
The infant welfare, or prevention of infant mortality, movement
The medical examination of school children, and physical education
movement
The social hygiene movement
The mental diagnosis and special school class movement
The manual training and don;estic science movement
The vocational guidance movement
The club and community center movement
The recreation movement
The Big Brother and Big Sister movement
The Boy Scout and Girl Scout movement
The Camp Fire Girl movement
Christian Endeavor, Junior League and other religious movements
The family-as-the-unit-of-social-work movement
Now what do all these' movements mean? How are they to change
the old institutions and agencies and systems of care for both the old
and the newer classes of specially handicpapped children? Whatever
else they may mean, they surely mean this : that each great movement in
behalf of children that has drawn to itself the thought and the work and
the money of big-hearted and able men and women is concerned with a
phase, or stage, or condition of child welfare that is of vital and perma-
nent concern to all children, not merely to specially handicapped children
These movements mean that all the children hereafter, whether in their
own homes or not, whether specially handicapped or not, must increas-
ingly have the benefit of these movements.
For example, the infant welfare, the children's year, the physical
diagnosis, the physical education, the social hygiene and the malnutrition
movements each one separately and all together mean that the health of
all children can in future be neglected by any institution or agency only
at its own peril.
The recreation movement means that play is a sacred birthright of
all children and can be taken from any child only by personal or com-
munity robbery.
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52 CHILDREN
The manual training movement, the vocational guidance movement,
the n^lental diagnosis of school children movement and the child labor
movement mean that to deprive a child of individualized and purposeful
activity for useful ends is an educational blunder, and to stunt his body
and mind with premature and exhausting and unsuitable toil is crime.
The probation movement, the Big Brother movement and the Big
Sister movement mean that there is love enough in the world to go
around so that every handicapped and lonely child can have his share.
They mean that all custodians who fail to connect each child with a real
lover must answer for it to the community.
The Boy and Girl Scout movements, the Camp Fire Girls movement
and certain religious movements among the young mean that there is a
spirit of service and of beauty and of aspiration to something higher
than themselves in the young adolescent that if permitted and guided
will lift children who are without handicaps and even crippled, blind,
deaf, homeless and delinquent children toward a higher life and better
citizenship.
These movements, taken as a whole, mean that there is a new spirit
in the world that will champion the cause of all children whether specially
handicapped or not. They mean that not only is there a minimum wage
ideal in the world and a national minimum ideal in the British Labor
Party, but there is a child welfare minimum ideal in our democracy that
will make that democracy worth saving by insisting that every child must
have his full human individualized chance. And of a necessity do these
movements mean that all the children in the old familiar classes handi-
capped by homelessness, blindness, deafness, neglect, wayward tendencies
— ^yes, even those handicapped by mental defect, are to have their full
share in this national child welfare minimum.
In short, whatever else these manifold child welfare movements
mean, they surely mean at least this much : that the child welfare mini-
mum for every child m.ust include health, play, adjusted work, individ-
ualized education, love, beauty, and spiritual guidance.
As was before stated, all of this is implicit in the nature and inherent
needs of childhood and is also implicit in all that has been done for the
specially handicapped throughout the past. We have persistently tried to
care for actual children whose concrete bodily sufferings have been seen
and felt most keenly. Our century long efforts to care for dependent,
neglected, defective and delinquent children have all the time implied
tlie ideal of a child welfare minimum for all children; but we have been
so busy trying to overcome separate and specific handicaps that we have
not clearly seen the implication. For example, the orphan asylum implies
that every child should have a real home. Special institutions for the
deaf imply that all children need ears that can hear. Institutions for
blind children emphasize the need of all children for good eyes. To
protect children against neglect and cruelty implies that all children
ought to have loving care and sympathetic discipline. To forbid persons
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PLAN OF ACTIVITY FOR DIVISION ON CHILDREN — ^THURSTON 53
to employ children at exhaustive' work for long hours implies that all
children need constructive work conditions adjusted to their strength.
To punish parents for keeping some children out of school implies that
all children ought to have an education, etc
During these last 25 years we have been coming more rapidly to a
recognition of all these implications and that our task for each child is
not merely to remove one handicap, but to give that child positively all
the conditions of activity and growth that will help him to come to the
maturity possible to him as a human being an'i to his possible usefulness
as a citizen in the community.
From Child Saving to Case Work
Our progress through the century has been natural and orderly in
spite of its slowness and many controversies. This progress has been sym-
bolized by our changing emphasis in the use of terms. Child Saving had
to 3deld a large place to prevention, and now both child saving and pre-
vention are giving way to the larger and newer conception of child wel-
fare. The steps of our progress have been these:
First: The handicaps of homelessness, cruelty, deafness, blindness,
hunched backs, delinquency, imbecile minds, crushing labor, illiteracy
and playless leisure have been most keenly felt, some by one group of
people and some by another.
Second : As soon as each group got really into action to overcome
a handicap of long standing, that group began to talk about prevention
of that handicap in which they were most interested. We must help
the children who are already blind of course, but why not prevent other
children from becoming blind? So with homelessness, deafness, delin-
quency, feeble-mindedness and all the other handicaps. By seeking to
save children from one handicap those workers became champions of pre-
vention of the particular juvenile handicap that has stirred them to action.
Third: As soon as all the persons interested in different groups
of handicapped children reach this stage of organized activity to prevent
any child from suffering the particular handicap which has aroused them
to action, an interesting period of controversy is ushered in. Up to this
stage there may have been controversies within a group as to the best
way to overcome or to prevent a particular handicap; for example, a
fight between the manual alphabet and oral language teaching of the
deaf; the contest between Moon type, English Braille, American
Braille and New York Point as types for the blind ; between a congregate
and cottage type of orphan asylum; between orphan asylum and family
care, etc.
But now the controversy broadens so that any group of people who
seek to overcome or prevent one handicap by methods which, at least,
by lack of emphasis or neglect, tend to the development of other kinds
of handicap, finds a host of critics raised up against them. After this stage
has been reached, so far as any institution or agency or system for the
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54 ' CHILDREN
deaf, blind, homeless, crippled or any other handicapped child neglects
the health, work, love, play, education, beauty and moral needs of children
so far must severe publjc condemnation be expected.
This is the stage of development in child welfare to which some of
our progressive communities and states have already come. To this stage
all communities and states must come. Every agency and institution and
system of child saving must be tested to the bottom by the new standards
of a child welfare minimum for every child. The method of this testing
must be by the intelligent and consecrated use of case work for every
handicapped child. In short, every institution and agency dealing with
children must make haste in all humility and earnestness to learn and
practice in the service of children, the method now known as case work,
or openly confess inefficiency and failure. And not only those who are
caring for the old classes of handicapped child must soon abide this test,
but all others as well, who through schools, recreation and all other
forms of work are serving as individuals children with more recently rec-
ognized forms of handicap. Already the Dewey philosophy of education
and the first steps that have been taken in the physical and mental diag-
nosis of school children are leading to a revolution in education.
Perhaps the greatest lesson for us to learn from the century long
story of child saving, prevention and child welfare is this: that there is
and can be no one ideal system of care for children that leaves out the
method of intelligent case work, for each child according to his individual
needs and the best resources for care the community oflFers.
The long search for a co-ordinated system of child saving and the
making of community plans for child welfare on a state and national
scale must go on. We must achieve efficiency in service to all children
as one of the greatest tasks laid upon a democratic people, but without
case work the ideal of the chairman of the children's committee in 1893
will be but a dream. Without provision for case work all community
plans in children's work, reports of children's code commissions, National
Public Welfare Leagues and auxiliary cpmmittees of national and state
councils of defense will fall short of securing for every child the full
child welfare minimum that is each child's due.
There is no easy or cheap way to bring up children to potential
maturity and anything less than this is a poor investment for the com-
munity and results in a dwarfed human personality.
We in America shall be slow to learn if this war does not teach us
at least the social economy of investing heavily enough in each child
handicapped and unhand icapped alike to bring him up to his potential
level of mature physical, intellectual and social fruitage.
The community plans and the co-ordinated systems of child welfare
must be so co-ordinated as to carry out an infinitely varied service for
each individual child. Any other plan will prove to be mechanical
and will defeat its own ends. Child welfare is not found at the end of
any merely mechanical system.
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PLAN OF ACTIVITy FOR DIVISION OF CHILDREN — THURS10N 55
Recommendations of the Committee
In view of the child welfare situation in the United States at this
stage of its evolution, with due regard to its history, its present forms
of organization and its inspiring goals; in view of the new opportunity
for continuity of programs offered by the form of organization of the
Division and that of the Conference, your committee makes these specific
recommendations :
First. That without binding the committee in future so that due
place may not be given from year to year to the greatest desirable variety
of opportunist topics, it is wise at this time to initiate a minimum pro-
gram of topics that should be carried out as parts of one whole during
succeeding years.
Second. That this program should include discussion of at least
three kinds.
A. Condensed, authoritative statements by committees of recog-
nized leaders within each field, of the trend, status and mini-
mum standards in respect to at least these forms of child wel-
fare work:
I. Work for Classes Long Recognised as Handicapped.
1. Destitute and dependent children.
2. Physically defective children.
3. Mentally defective children.
4. Delinquent children.
6. Children of unmarried parents.
6. Children in need of protection from cruelty, neglect and improper standards
of home care.
II. Child Welfare Movements Based on Handicaps More Recently Recognized,
1. The eugenic and infant welfare movement.
5. The malnutrition movement.
8. The physical diagnosis and physical education movement.
4. The child labor movement.
6. The manual training — vocational guidance and industrial adjustment move-
ment.
6. The mental diagnosis and individualized education movement.
7. The recreation movement.
8. The social hygiene^ social efHciency and moral education movements.
Taken together the discussions under A-I and A-II should form a
group of historical and critical papers that sum up to date the main
trend, status and outlook of actual child welfare achievement.
B. Authoritative discussion of the philosophy and interrelations of
our basic and permanent institutions to child welfare work :
1. Philosophy of the family and its interrelations with child welfare work.
8. Philosophy of the school and its interrelations with child welfare work.
8. Philosophy of the state and its interrelations with child welfare work.
4. Philosophy of private initiative and its interrelations with child welfare work.
5. Philosophy of industry and its interrelations with child welfare work.
6. Philosophy of the church and its interrelations with child welfare work.
Taken together, these discussions should sum- up the best thought
to date concerning the fundamental principles on which child welfare
work is based, what its goals are, and what the reciprocal relations of
child welfare work and other forms of social work are.
C. Descriptive and interpretative discussions of the most significant
current achievements in the technique of any phase of child
welfare work in "A-I". "A-II" or "B-1-6".
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56 CHILDREN
•
Here is opportunity for the description and interpretation of
actual open fighting or trench warfare in behalf of children by
means of
(a) case work
(b) administrative efficiency and research
(c) legislation
(d) education of public opinion
(e) co-ordination of effort, etc.
In a word, the committee proposes that the program should be per-
fectly free in the future as in the past to discuss under "C" all phases
of each year's experience in child welfare. All these topics may thrill
with the stories of current effort and achievement
The committee urge, however, that it is the further duty of the
Division on Children to help in a systematic way during a period of
years to make the reports from the firing line under "C" more and more
effective each year by the gradual and systematic consolidation of all the
lines of the child welfare forces in accordance with the suggestions of
"A-I", "A-II" and "B-1-6"; in other words, to make the front line
fighting more effective by supporting it everywhere with adequate tactics
and strategy.
It remains merely to point out that in the children's program for
this year the committee has made a beginning in the directions above
recommended.
For example, the chairmen of four committees make preliminary
reports on topics under A, namely: Arthur W. Towne, Minimum
Standards of Child Protection and Home Care; Miss H. Ida Curry, the
Status of Social Work for Children in Rural Communities; Cheney C.
Jones, the Problem of the Child of Unmarried Parents; Mrs. Helen T.
WooUey, Physical and Mental Diagnosis of School Children.
As to the discussion of a topic under B it was originally planned
to have The Philosophy of the School and Its Interrelations with Child
Welfare Work the feature of the general session. It is still hoped that
discussions at luncheon on Saturday, May 19, may prove to be intro-
ductory to adequate plans for such a discussion another year.
The other topics are specifically of the sort suggested under "C",
and are all reports from the front line of child welfare work. The com-
mittee believes they are all worth while on their own account and also as
data for the more inclusive and summarized discussions recommended
under "A". •
UNIVERSAL PHYSICAL EDUCATION
Willard S, Small, Specialist in School Hygiene, United States Bureau
of Education, Washington
I find it difficult at this time to think or speak of physical education
without relating it most intimately to the war in which we are engaged.
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UNIVERSAL PHYSICAL EDUCATION — SMALL 57
The Secretary of War recently asked for an appropriation of
$12,000,000,000 to carry on the war for the ensuing year. In the same
hearing he declined to set any limit to the number of men that would
be needed in the effective use of that $12,000,000,000. Conservative
estimates, very conservative, I judge, of the length of the war, vary from
three to five years. The most dangerous person in the United States
today is not the German spy, is not the pacifist, is not the slacker. The
most dangerous person in the United States today is the facile optimist
who thinks that somehow a miracle is to be performed to save us from
the effort that others know we must put forth in order to win the war.
We are engaged in a life and death struggle, in a struggle as old
as history, as old as the human race. Fundamentally it is a struggle
between two absolutely irreconcilable theories of life and all that life
implies. It is the old, old struggle between slavery and liberty, between
fatalism and freedom. In this most modem form it is the struggle on
the one hand between slavery and fatalism incarnated in a political
system that holds that men must be governed by self-selected hereditary
powers; and on the other hand, liberty and- freedom incarnated in a
political system that holds that men can govern themselves through self-
determined action. There can be no reconciliation bet\\'een these two
polar opposites. One or the other of these systems must prove itself
the stronger.
There is but one meaning to this; — it is to be a long war. We must
plan for next year, and the next, and the next. The war will ultimately
be won by the side having the greatest resources of human power.
Flaunting posters tell us that "food will win the war" and "money will
win the war" and "ships will win the war." All true, but only as food
is transformed into human power; and only as money is transformed into
the instruments of war for the use of human power; and only as ships
transport human power and these instruments to the scene of war. Our
allies and we ourselves are fond of referring to our "unlimited resources."
We cannot too soon correct this error. Our resources are very great,
but they are not unlimited. The winning fo this war will tax to the
utmost our resources of human power — ^man and woman power — brain
and muscle power. England has three quarters of a million women in
munition works; France, a half million. Who can say how soon we
may have a million ?
Revelations of the Draft
The statistics of rejection for physical unfitness in the first draft are
-^n impressive reminder of one limitation of our human resources. The
gures show that approximately 35 per cent of the men examined were
jjected. It would be easy to exaggerate the significance of these figures,
'hey have been exploited uncritically as indicating progressive physical
:generation of the nation. This jumping conclusion is entirely unwar-
ited. As the Provost Marshal General points out in his report for
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58 CHILDREN
1917 the physical condition of the nation as revealed, by these draft
examination figures is probably better than was the physical condition of
the nation at the time of our Civil War. Further, many of the rejec-
tions are on account of undersize and defective vision — ^neither of which
causes argues any general physical unfitness. The important question in
this connection is not the exact percentage of rejections, but what per-
centage of rejections are on account of remediable defects. i
No analysis of draft figures has yet been made that warrants a clear f
answer to that question. From the analysis of a limited number of fig- i
ures, however, and from what we know of the nature of ph5rsical defects [
of school children, I estimate that the rejections from remediable defect
are somewhere between 30 per cent and 40 per cent of the total rejections ,
for physical defect ; and I believe it is nearer 40 per cent than 30 per cent. j
If 35 per cent are rejected, then 350,000 out of every million are rejected ;
if 40 per cent of these rejections are for remediable defects, then about j
140,000 out of every million are lost to military service because we as a [
nation have failed to do our social duty; for it is obvious that all such
defective conditions could have been remedied by an adequate system of
physical education of school children — a system that centers itself in suffi-
cient and scientifically directed physical activity but includes as essential
conditions periodic physical examination, corrective work, supervision of
health conditions in the equipment and management of schools, and devel-
opment of habits and ideals of healthful living. Even now, when the
exigencies of the war are draining off our physicians and nurses and
physical education experts for direct military service, this great task of
prevention and promotion of our human power through physical education
of children of school age challenges us.
Immediate Measures of Reform
The present emergency demands careful distinction of projects that
may be immediately attained from those that will require time, study,
and extensive readjustments.
As measures that can be put into effect at once in many communities,
the three following are of great practical moment and are closely related.
I
Intensive physical education in the high schools.
It may be excusable that it was left to the first draft to discover
the 34 per cent of physical incompetence in the male population between
21 and 30 years of age. At any rate, that water has gone over the dam.
It may be excusable if it is left to the draft machinery for the next two
years to discover the physical incompetence of the boys now 19 and 20
years of age who annually will be taken up by the draft. It may be that
it is excusable for these two years to lay upon the over-burdened army
machinery the task not only of discovering defects, but also the heavier
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UNIVERSAL PHYSICAL EDUCATION — SMALL 59
tasks of repairing defects and of giving that elementary physical condi-
tioning without which military training is impossible; but I submit that
it is the wisdom of the fool to stand idly watching the splendid procession
of boys of high school age marching by to the terrible and searching
realities of the next few years and take no steps to prepare them for
the test.
Under the revised regulations of the Provost Marshal General, there
is a fourfold physical classification of drafted men. Class I consists of
men who are free from incapacitating physical defects and are fit for
immediate service. Class II consists of men unfit for immediate service
by reason of remediable physical defect.
There are approximately 5,000,000 boys of high school age. Of
these, there were enrolled in secondary schools in 1916 730,000, or ap-
proximately 15 per cent. These are the selected group. These boys now
in high school will play an active and vital part in the war; on the
battlefield, on the seas, in munition works, in ship yards, in scientific
research — in all military, semi-military, industrial and civil services. It is
of the highest importance to develop to its fullest capacity this potential
man power.
There should be no high school graduates in Class II. After the
present year no high school should permit a diploma to be conferred
upon any boy with a remediable defect. It is practicable and feasible;
It mvolvcs only two things — the examination of all high school boys, and
insistence by the school authorities and those who back the school authori-
ties upon the fullest physical fitness possible for the individual as a con-
dition to graduation.
The sadie program can and should be put into effect for girls.
Wouldn't it be a blessed thing if it could — if those poor little girls tod-
dling about on their stilted shoes, powdering their noses and painting their
faces in the mistaken idea that cosmetics, as one of them told me, "is
something ladies put on to be pretty" — if somehow it could be gotten
into the heads and hearts and arms and legs of those girls that beauty
and grace come from inside out and are not something that is pasted
from the outside on ? But this would reach only about one-tenth of the
population of high school age, of that army of boys and girls who are
coming up to serve their country, if the war lasts, in its most vital need.
This is a selected tenth. The program should be extended to boys
and girls of high school age in industry. An iridescent dream, you say?
That all depends upon you — the American people — ^whether it is an
iridescent dream or a practical matter. It can be done. I suspect it is
more important, vastly so, to make war upon the neglect of the physical
welfare of our boys and girls than it is to make war upon the German
language. Mind you, I hold no brief for teaching of the German lan-
guage, because I am fully convinced, and have been convinced for years
that most of the modern language teaching in our high schools in the
last twenty-five years has been utterly futile — the method and purpose
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60 CHILDREN
of teaching German must be revolutionized — ^but if I were going to be
a soldier, especially an officer, in the trenches and had to pit my wits
against the wits of the enemy, I believe I would like to know the German
language.
II
The second point of attack is the pupils leaving the elementary
schools. There should be established immediately the requirement that
all pupils leaving the elementary schools either by graduation or to go to
work should be subjected to a physical examination, and further, that
only those found physically fit for specific occupations should be permitted
to enter those occupations. If that requirement is not adopted and put
into effect we are going to have, instead of an upbuilding of our ph5rsical
strength, a weakening of it. This measure would guarantee the detec-
tion of physical incapacity in most of the children under high school age
seven years before they are wanted for army purposes.
Ill
The third point of attack is adequate, systematic supervision of the
physical health of all children in the elementary schools. The first step
towards that is the examination of all children upon entrance to the
elementary schools. In the majority of cases defective conditions may be
detected then. Then, there should be examination of the children while
they are in the elementary schools. Few communities in the United
States provide this service. There are few cities where medical examina-
tion is thorough-going and effective. The development of machinery for
this service will be a matter of time. But mere examination is only
a negative matter. Unless we have a constructive program it is worth-
less. The existence of the human organism depends roughly upon three
conditions — fuel (food)^ air and exercise. In the human engine the
combination of fuel and air is directly effected by physical exercise. These
three things, then — food, air and physical exercise — ^must be secured to
children in proper proportions if normal development is to be expected.
Any plan of physical education that magnifies one of these to the neglect
of the others is partial and to that extent ineffective.
National Policy Required
But, if there is to be such a thing as universal physical education, it
must be conceived and executed as a national policy.
The aim and purpose of physical education should be more fully
and thoroughly to prepare the boys and girls of the nation for the duties
and responsibilities of citizenship through the development of vigor and
muscular strength and skill, bodily and mental poise, and such desirable
moral and social qualities as self-control, self-subordination, obedience to
authority, co-operation under leadership and the exercise of disciplined
initiative; further, through physical examination and the correction of
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UNIVERSAL PHYSICAL EDUCATION — SMALL 61
postural and other remediable defects, through the promotion of hygienic
school buildings, playgrounds, and athletic fields. That is the purpose of
the state laws that have already been enacted. Eight such laws of
greater or less force and effectiveness have been enacted, but the big
problem is how to get universal physical education — how to get it in all
communities, in all states throughout the nation. Weakness in the state
or local community is a national weakness.
The draft record shows striking differences between the physical
strength of our states. For instance, one state shows 85 per cent of its
registrants are physically fit ; in another the showing is 56 per cent only.
It happens that these two states are practically of the same size. Rela-
tively, one of these states is a much greater national asset than the other.
As between the two largest states, there is a difference of about 16 per
cent. Is it, or is it not, a problem of national importance? We must
guard against the danger of assuming that an adequate and effective
national law would entirely eliminate such disparities between the states.
But there is no exaggeration in the assumption that an adequate national
system of physical education would significantly reduce such disparities.
A state matter, you say? Well, of course it is. But what are you going
to do if one state, after thorough investigation of the matter, is content
with an intelligent and satisfactory understanding of it, and does nothing?
What are you going to do if in one state the economic ability is only
one-tenth that of another state? What are you going to do if in one
state the ratio of the child population to the productive adult population
is one-third that of another state? There is only one way of equalizing
these disparities and inequalities, and that is by federal aid and a measure
of federal control.
The principle of grants from the central government to the local
units is about as old as Anglo-Saxon law. It is at least 600 years old in
England, and it is not a new thing in this country. The land-grant
college is one phase of it. The new Smith-Hughes law for vocational
education is another phase of it. The developing tendency is to make
these subsidies by the federal government to the state on one basis only,
namely: that they are given by the federal government on condition that
the state at least duplicates them and fulfills certain conditions that are
uniform in all states. That is the basis, I am fully persuaded, upon
which we are to federalize physical education in the broad sense in which
I have defined it and as it is defined more or less fully in some of the
state laws already enacted.
Physical Needs Dominant
I find I am becoming a thief of time and that I must round up
very quickly what I have to say on this subject. Let me steal a minute
more to say that physical education, if it ever means anything to us,
must be interpreted in its broad sense. It must not be understood in the
old sense of physical "culture" and "training," which is corrective, but
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62 CHILDREN
not developmental. The fact of the case is that physical education has to
do with physical activity, and physical activity is the very fundamental
thing in human development. Before we get through with this we may
have to turn some of our values upside down. In education we may
come to recognize that physical and spiritual and moral efficiency which
comes with true development of physical powers has more importance
than grammar, or any other thing. Did you ever stop to think of the
contrast between the life of the child the day before he enters school and
the day after? If so, you have realized that the day before the child
enters school about eight hours of his twelve or thirteen waking hours
are given over to muscular activity. At least five or six are given to
very energetic exercise of the big muscles, and at least two or three hours
of the rest of the eight hours are devoted to manual occupations not
requiring very fine adjustments. The day after he enters school there . f
is a complete reversal of things, and only by being a "bad boy," I am
afraid, will the child secure to himself those eight hours of energetic
muscular activity.
We cannot too soon undertake the program of nationalism. No ^
effort should be spared by earnest men and women to put into effect ^
immediately emergency measures such as suggested, but we should initiate V
at once a national program that will work well today, and a year from 1
today, and project this into the years beyond. The heart of the old world ■ i
is dead. Its doom was sounded in July, 1914. Some of us are still
going about in a somnambulistic state. We are repeating the old catch
words, we are worshipping the old little gods that are very sacred to us. .|
But we are sleepwalkers. The old world is dead. No one will under- |
take, I fancy, unless he is a true prophet, to prophesy what the new world
will be, but I venture this suggestion, that there will be no return to
the shameless individualism of thought and action which characterized us
before the war. Someone has said the war will be won in 1938. He is
right. The nation which then has the finest and strongest body of men
and women of twenty years of age will be the winning nation. We are
a great nation — or at least we think we are. A great nation that does
not grow strong through war is inherently a weak nation. I mean that
literally and figuratively, and refer to its physical as well as its moral
resources. The demonstration that democracy is safe for the world must
come through our ability to understand this hard doctrine and to make
it a reality.
THE CHILDREN'S YEAR AND AFTER
This was an entirely informal discussion. Dr. Jessica B. Peixotto
of the University of California, at present executive chairman of the
department of child welfare of the Woman's Committee of the Council
of National Defense, presided.
1. Miss Peixotto, outlined briefly the way in which the program of
"The Children's Year" was being put into operation. She told how and
why the Woman's Committee of the Council of National Defense had
I
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children's year and after 63
agreed to accept the responsibility for carrying out the thorough-going
war program for children set forth by the Federal Children's Bureau to
the eleven million women now organized in the state divisions of the
Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense. It was ex-
plained how the Woman's Committee, acting through its department of
child welfare, was not only to share in formulating the program, not only
to distribute millions of weighing and measuring cards, thousands of
pamphlets and other propaganda and publicity material, but how also
and above all, the Woman's Committee was acting as the agent to effect
and to maintain a nation-wide organization dedicated in one of its most
active departments to the constructive program for the care of the chil-
dren of the United States, announced by the Federal Children's Bureau.
The point of special interest in this collaboration, Dr. Peixotto
stated, was that thereby both parties to the plan are strengthened and
the community is assured of democratic work for children. The child
welfare department of the Woman's Committee becomes in the best
sense an extension of a government bureau. The government bureau
investigators, sober, disciplined research workers, will, it is hoped, be
freatly aided by the enthusiasm of volunteers rich in eager earnestness,
he facts that three months of work had already developed, were
given as hopeful signs that "The Children's Year" was to bring a rich
harvest of improved health to the children of the nation and improved
standards of child care.
2. Miss Julia C. Lathrop, chief of the Federal Children's Bureau,
Washington, stated that it had seemed appropriate and necessary that
during the second year of the war the United States should heed the
warnings which it had received from other countries regarding the
safeguarding of children. It was very noticeable that during the second
year of the war, England's infant mortality rate was 91, while the mor-
tality rate of the United States at the same time, where no war was
raging, was about 100. In the United States 300,000 infants and children
under five had died during the year 1917, most of whom could have been
saved. In the second year of the war the lives of at least 100,000 under
five years of age ought to be saved. Weighing and measuring of chil-
dren up to the age of five years constitutes the first step in the practical
program of Children's Year, and then careful follow-up work. Out of
this it may be expected that there will develop a new respect for hygiene
and for physical efficiency.
Without care and nurture of a good mother, a child is clearly de-
frauded, and a social program which does not provide for keeping a
good mother with her children is lacking at its very foundation. The
mother must be expected and allowed to take care of the children in
her own home. Minimum wage laws should do their part. Decent
standards of livelihood should be insisted upon, and all the readjust-
ments of daily life made so that a mother can take care of her own.
The rural child and the city child need the same chance and should
have the same full period of school during the whole of the year.
Another factor of importance is, that recreation for young people
must not be suppressed but must be supervised, for it is essential to
work and to wholesome living. In closing, Miss Lathrop urged that
everyone should work at such a program, and that the result would
come from the efforts of the many all over the country.
Miss Lathrop later in the discussion added that altogether the effort
of Children's Year was to recogfnize and to make permanent certain
reduceable minimum standards of child welfare.
3. Mrs, Ira Couch Wood of Chicago, director of the Elizabeth
McCormick Memorial and chairman of the child welfare department,
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64 CHILDREN
Illinois Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense, gave
a statement of the concrete items that entered into the prog^ram of
the 2,000 unit groups of women in Illinois. While there were com-
munities in Illinois as in other places who said that they needed nothing
more since they had Boy Scouts or needed no child welfare program
at all since they were a country community, she felt that the state of
Illinois was aroused and that the work that was being undertaken in
birth registration, in the development of public health training and in
the tuberculosis campaign, was bearing good fruit. It had been their
aim to bring together all the various child welfare agencies into coordi-
nate programs, and in Chicago and in other parts of the state the schools
had been made centers of organization. Wherever settlements, day
nurseries and infant welfare societies existed they had also been made
into centers for weighing and measuring tests, the first feature of the
program of Children's Year.
4. Lydia Allen DeVilbiss, M. D., director of the division of child
hygiene of the State Board of Health of Kansas, stated that forty-eight
hours previously her state had been admitted to the birth registration
area. The director of the child hygiene division is also chairman of
child welfare of the Kansas State Woman's Council of Defense. In
this connection the state is well organized by counties, wards and
precincts. House-to-house canvasses are being made covering birth
registration; registration of expectant mothers in the prenatal corre-
spondence course, conducted by the child hygiene division; registration
of defective, crippled and dependent children, who are eligible to receive
medical and surgical care at expense of state; and also registration of
all mothers of young children in order that they may receive educational
literature. The W. C. T. U. and federated clubs are conducting the
Children's Year weighing and measuring tests, with complete physical
examination in many cases. This movement is sweeping the state.
The governor has appointed a commission to report on care of the
feebleminded in Kansas. The lieutenant governor has appointed a Chil-
dren's Code Commission. The Kansas health car Warren has been r
dedicated to Children's Year and is to be devoted exclusively to a child |
welfare exhibit. It travels continuously for ten months of the year,
starting on its itinerary September 9, 1918. ■"
5. Ellsworth Paris of Iowa City, acting director of the Iowa Child L
Welfare Research Station, spoke of the progress of the Children's J
Year campaign in Iowa. The work has. been carried on by the women's
committee of the Council of National Defense but under the direction of I
the Research Station located at the state university. The plan in Iowa J
was to have the largest possible percentage of children examined by
physicians, and in some communities, notably Des Moines, Waterloo {
and Ottumwa, every child in the city of pre-school age had been ac- |
corded an examination by a physician. The Child Welfare Station is |
laying particular emphasis on the permanent character of the follow-up |
work which is to result from this campaign. |
6. Another speaker said that the baby might be made the pampered
aristocrat of our various communities, but the death rate of babies can . ;
be reduced only by control and getting rid of poverty. The United J
States government is establishing, first, the principle of an adequate ;*
standard of living; secondly, certain elements of social insurance. If h
this could be more fully applied it might become very effective in remov- j
ing poverty through health and other insurance.
7. The informal discussion was concluded by Miss Katherine C.
Felton cf San Francisco.
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A COMMUNITY RECREATION PROGRAM FOR
JUVENILES*
George A. Bellamy ^ Head Resident , Hiram House, Cleveland
Before taking up the problem of the community recreation, it
might be wise to discuss the relation of the community and democracy
in order that we may better understand the principles and program that
a community must have in order that a democracy may be permanent.
Democracy is like the Kingdom of Heaven — it is within US. It has
two souls, the soul of the individual and the soul of the nation. The
social life of the nation is the best external evidence of its soul, just as
the moral acts of the individual are the tests of the individual soul.
Tlie individual must be free to act so long as he does not harm
any other member. ' He must think in terms of his individual salvation
and neighborhood development. This means, first, that we must have
an intelligent individual. Thomas Jefferson said that "Any man who
expects to be free and ignorant at the same time expects what never has
happened and what never can happen," All progress depends upon an
intelligent public opinion.
Wc must have, second, a community will which controls the in-
dividual will. Any lack of a collective will must necessarily give rise
to the overthrow of the community. There must be a top and bottom
intelligence. The authority conferred by the individual at the bottom
through his representative at the top must sparkle with courage, vision,
human sympathy and understanding. Anarchy, even though it be the
"white flag" anarchist with all his sympathy and devotion to idealism,
cannot exist because it does not have a community will.
Before the war this nation was a nation of individually capable
men, but not knit together. We had great inventors, great financiers,
great lawyers, great railroad magnates, but these pyramids of greatness
have not been tied up in a thorough, definite way to any national pro-
gram. America led the world in social unrest, in homicides, accidents,
fires, etc. Our national characteristic was lawlessness, as instanced in
the most common walks of life by speed violators, race track gamblers,
professional thieving in large and small businesses, and as instanced also
in great tragic acts as the dynamiting of the McNamaras and the hang-
ing of Frank in Georgia. Before the war we were a mighty population
without self-control, without self-discipline and without a great sense of
co-operation except in some sudden, tragic impulse. But the war has put
a new color upon our national characteristics and has suddenly thrown
us together in a time of dire distress. It gives promise that it may bring
out a great national consciousness, a national discipline, a national pro-
gram, yea, a national soul. It has already given us a broader social
* Summary of addreu.
65
W
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66 ' CHILDREN
Vision. We are thinking in terms of justice not alone for our own race
and people, but even in international terms.
If our democracy had been prepared for this war by virtue of a
great national consciousness and soul as we are likely now to develop,
we would not have waited so long before entering the war, and the
tragedies and suffering would probably have greatly decreased. In order
that we may be prepared, we must have a real community program,
which has developed every individual in the community so that he is
fulfilling his full responsibility. Naturally this program must begin
with the children, for, as we develop in the child idealism, honor, health,
happiness, morals, so we fill the nation with a population full of strength
and courage that cannot be overcome.
The first suggestion that I make for a community program is that
It must have simplicity. It must be, as far as possible, free from ma-
chinery which dwarfs and strangles the fullest development. An or-
ganization which has become institutional is not progressing. It has
crystallized. It is living upon the past. Its machinery is too great to
permit its fullest and free development. Its plays moral havoc with
the highest type of leadership. The loss of free, simple development of
neighborship is the most damaging charge that could come to a com-
munity. We must not be dazzled by bigness of things, by buildings,
and things external. Hence, it is necessary that so far as possible the
community program be free from mechanical devices which thwart
progress.
Second, there must be in the community groups of people who are
pioneers, who develop technique of organization, ideals and vision, and
as soon as such individual programs have been thought through and
worked out, the group of individuals should see that the community ;
takes up the program, working out through its own experience the prob- *
lems involved. The settlement has, to my mind, been the eyes of the !
neighborhood. At Hiram. House in Cleveland, twenty-two years ago, «
we were opening up kindergartens, nurseries, public baths, branch li- r
braries, encouraging the establishment of city physicians in the neighbor- f
hood, developing plans for the teaching of domestic science, working on ,"
an employment bureau, night classes for foreigners, manual training, etc. j
As soon as it was possible to secure public agencies to take over and as- j
sume the responsibility for these activities, they were turned over to i
such organizations. It has ever been our purpose to suggest and work i
out the problem involved in a special activity and secure somebody else I
to carry it on, either a great private agency or some department of the *
municipality or board of education. There are now other activities car- J
ried on at Hiram House which we hope within the next two or three }
years can be turned over to such agencies. This is the way of life — the f
nurturing, the developing and then the giving off. Death follows when j
progress stops. There must be in the neighborhood many such agencies
that are good losers, that work out their pet ideas and then gladly with
good sportsmanship, pass them on. It is a greater privilege, as well as
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COMMUNITY RECREATION PROGRAM FOR JUVENILES — BELLAMY 67
duty, to do this than it is to hold within our own control activities which,
when carried on by the community, will be of value to a far greater
number.
Third, this program should develop self-expression of the com-
munity. It must begin with the children. They must be taught to
handle civic forces through such organizations as Progress City at Hiram
House, which is a miniature city that has its own array of city officials,
runs its own bank, store and post office, and in which every citizen
learns a trade and is paid in Progress City money. Here children are
working out ideals of citizenship and the problems involved. They
learn the value of strong leadership in office, the disadvantages and
losses that result from weak leadership. As children have placed upon
them the responsibility for the development of such ideals and civic
virtue, they will come into their full-fledged citizenship prepared for the
trying responsibilities ahead of them.
It is impossible to make definite suggestions of individual activities,
but in order that you may all get more specific help, I suggest that you
study carefully H. Caldwell Cook's new book completed in the trenches,
The Play Way. I suggest also that you study Joseph Lee's Book, Play
in Education, Mr. Lee in the fore part of his book suggests there are
seven fundamental instincts in every child — hunting, fighting, co-oper-
ation, nurturing, creation, rhythm, curiosity. These instincts come
through at different periods of the child's life. There should be a pro-
graiii in the community with activities specially planned which draw
out in each individual these instincts at the time of their natural de-
velopment in the child. Mr. Lee makes many suggestions in his book
which are helpful in such a program.
INFORMAL DISCUSSION
1. Capt. Walter Petit, N. A., formerly of the staflF of the New York
School of Philanthropy, said: When the city takes control of recreation
there are disadvantages as well as advantages. Too often all relations
to children's play interests are neglected, and activities become more
nearly drudgery than play. This is but one phase of the leisure time
problem, so much neglected in this country
2. Sidney A, Teller, resident director of the Irene Kaufmann
Settlement, Pittsburgh, stated that every school house should be a com-
munity center. Private efforts and agencies should point the way and
make the experiments for a democracy, but it is important in a democ-
racy that private efforts should not carry the load any longer than is
necessary. As soon as the democracy, as represented by the municipal,
state or national government, can undertake to carry on the work, the
burden should be shifted from private to public effort. This assumes that
the community appreciates the value of the service and its responsibility
for it.
3. Other speakers on informal discussion of this topic were:
Cyrus F. Stimson, New York; William R. Taylor, St. Louis; E. O.
Bradshaw, Chicago; Mrs. H. C. Broyles, Cincinnati; Charles A. Bern-
heimer, New York; John Melpolder, Portsmouth; Mrs. T. F. Kinney,
Minneapolis; Prof. R. E. Hieronymus, Urbana, 111.
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68 CHILDREN
4. In closing, Mr. Thurston spoke of the lengthening radius of
recreation for children. He also added that in developing proper recre-
ation on a city-wide basis demonstrations must be made to the school
board in small units; religious terminology must not be used; a commit-
tee for local service must be gotten together; decent Sunday recreation
must be encouraged and made possible; and all through, recreation
must be put on the basis of self-expression for the fundamental instincts.
Joseph Lee's book. Education Through Play, was recommended as a help
to drawing such self-expression out.
THE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES PRESENTED BY
THE SCHOOL LUNCH
Sally Lucas Jean, People's Institute, New York.
Through a wise stimulation and direction of the group spirit, chil-
dren collectively can be taught readily many things which it is well
nigh impossible to give to the individual child in the home. There-
fore group feeding, whether in connection with the school lunch service,
in the day-nursery, on the playground, or in the recreation center, offers
one of the best means for cultivating in children those correct food
habits which lie at the foundation of child health. It is not sufficient
that the child be given certain theoretical information concerning
dietetic principles. This information must be made to function in
conduct, and it is only by the inculcation of right food habits, as dis-
tinguished from the imparting of dietetic information, that we may hope
to make any real headway against the evil of malnutrition, whose bad
effects are becoming increasingly apparent in children of all classes,
rich and poor alike.
Malnutrition is a much misunderstood term. To most people it
is synonymous simply with improper feeding. The kind and amount
of food taken, by the cl)ild is held to be responsible for the trouble.
This is, however, too naive a view of the problem. Malnutrition in- jj
volves the proper digestion and assimilation of food, as well as its
quality and amount. Anything which interfers with the way in which |
food is digested and assimilated will tend to cause malnutrition. It is {
a question of how the body utilizes the food ingested, as well as whether
the food is of the right quality and anaount. This means that all of
the living habits of the child — his work,* his play, his exercise, his habits
of breathing and sleeping, his regular attention to the evacuation of •
the bowels, and many other things — must be taken into consideration (
if we would guard against malnutrition.
Granting, however, the importance of all these other health factors,
students of the subject are agreed that the majority of malnourished . ^
children of this country are insufficiently or unsuitably fed. Errors in f_ ,*
personal hygiene often lead to loss of appetite and perverted food i* ♦
habits. Pampering is perhaps almost as important as poverty as a factor
in producing malnutrition, for pampering leads to bad eating habits, (.
and bad eating habits lead to malnutrition. Bad habits, whatever their
f
.■V.
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EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES OF SCHOOL LUNCHEON — JEAN 69
cause, must be overcome, and the child must be re-educated in right
eating habits, before his condition can be remedied. It is in this
education that the school lunch offers unparalleled opportunities.
Bad Effects of Malnutrition
In the opinion of the Public Health Committee of the New York
Academy of Medicine, "Ignorance of food values is one of the several
major causes of this phenomenon of malnutrition, which, if unchecked,
will cause a serious impairment of our vital resources. Since the war
the importance of the problem has become palpably intensified.
The necessity for food conservation and the scarcity of some customary foods and
the high prices have combined to focus our attention on the problem of nutrition as
never Defore. Changes in stronglv intrenched habits cannot be wrought precipitately.
Even when mothers have learned how to adapt the menu to scientific dictates and
to conditions indicated by our conservation policy, their efforts fail unless the children
learn to like the food placed before them.
"Malnutrition, although not a disease in the narrow sense of the
term," says Dr. E. H. Lewinski-Corwin, "is a morbid physiological
condition which may be caused by surroundings of an unsanitary nature,
or by personal habits which are unhygienic, or by some ph5^iological
cause or defect which prevents the proper assimilation of food." Mal-
nutrition is a definite departure from health which should be recognized
as much as tuberculosis. It has certain definite causes and definite after
effects. Moreover, some of these aftereffects can never be entirely
overcome. An adult may be underfed for a long period without any
serious results, but the child who suffers from serious malnutrition may
never be so strong and capable as he might have been. Malnutrition
is something which in the great majority of cases is preventable and
curable. Its detection requires no expert medical knowledge, or care-
ful microscopic examinations. The weight of the child and his rate of
gain usually tell the story.
The malnourished child is always underweight. Dr. William P.
Emerson would classify every child who is as much as ten per cent
underweight for his height as a malnourished or undernoumished child,
and this standard is generally accepted by other students of malnutrition.
Malnourished children are usually pale and anaemic, inattentive, listless
in their studies, and disinclined to run and play. They are easily
fatigued, both mentally and physically, and are often retarded in their
school work. The malnourished child is peculiarly susceptible to disease,
he is always catching whatever disease happens to be making the rounds.
His muscles are soft and flabby. What folly to attempt to force such
a child through, the regular mill of school work! It results merely in
time and money wasted by the teacher and the school system, and failure
and discouragement on the part of the child who cannot keep up with
his mates.
Extent of Malnutrition "^
Nevertheless it is estimated by Dr. Josephine Baker, Director of
he Bureau of Child Hygiene of the New York City Department of
lealth, that about twenty-one per cent of the school children in New
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?fl ' CHILDREN
York city arc undernourishcdp This figure Is probably lower, not
higher^ than that found in the country at large, since, contrary to
popular opinion, it has been demonstrated that children in rural districts
. show a lower level of physical efficiency than city children. It is esti-
I mated by the best students of the subject that about six million school
'children, of the twenty million school children of the country, are mal-
I nourished. Their great number is the shame of pur civilization. The
removal of this condition constituted a national crises. The children
of the country are our second line of defense. They are the guardians
of the civilization of tomorrow. The recent draft revelations of de-
plorable physical deterioration in the flower of our young men, have
demonstrated that these children who do not measure up to standard
become in later years the men and women who do nbt measure up in
their country's time of need. President Wilson has said that, second"
^^ only to our duty of caring for the men at the front, is our duty of
"Tafifig for our children at home,
European countries have long realized the foolishness of trying to
force book learning upon children whose bodies and brains are weakened
through lack of nourishment. Group feeding in the shape of a school
lunch service has long been considered an important part of the educa-
tional system of France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, England and
Germany, The United States is, on the whole, many years behind the
times in her appreciation of the educational value of the school lunch.
In its study of the problem of malnutrition and ways of combating
it, the Public Health Committee of the New York Academy of Medi-
cine has issued a statement saying that
Scbool feeding on a Aelf-aupportirig bs^is ought to be part and parcel of our educB'
lioiial system* It has ban proved by demonstration in this city and elsewhere
that, in groups^ children will mneh more readily eat food to which they have not
been accustomed. Peculiarities of tas Lc and racial customs are readily overcomf
through the Btimulation of group feeding, the children eating the new foods with
relish. In this wise they develop habits tor wholesome and nutritious foods, which
th^y have not btcji receiving at hotne. They take back into the homes the taste for
the new foods aud by thus stimulated demand improve the home dietary. Herein
IJES the educational value of the so-called "school lunches/* which in many of the
cities of otir country and in other countries have proved to he of genuine benelit to
the children in a great variety of wnyis.
Educational Value of School Lunch
In the inculcation of correct food habits it is of comparatively
small value to give abstract information to the children about the food
value of this or that food substance which they either do not know or
do not like. The school lunch offers an opportunity of cultivating in
them a taste and desire for the right kind of food, and offers an object
lesson through which instruction on food values can be made concrete-
Quite aside from its importance as a war emergency measure, to teach
the children to cat war foods and food substances, and appeal to them
in their count rj^'s time of need to become strong men and women for
patriotic reasonSi the school lunch has a permanent educational value
because —
L The food chosen for the lunches can be of the proper substance.
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EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES OF SCHOOL LUNCHEON — JEAN 71
quality and amount required for the physiological needs of
the children.
2. The food can be well cooked, thereby setting a standard for
children from homes in which cooking is a neglected art.
3. The children can be taught why they need certain kinds of
foods.
4. The children can be taught how much they need.
5. The children can be taught what the food costs, and where
and how it is produced.
6. The children can be taught that they are dependent upon the
labor of others and that they should make a fair return.
7. The children can be taught the identity of substance in all our
common foods, and therefore, how to choose food substitutes
wisely. They can be taught to see that the food habits of all
national groups depend upon the food supply of the environ-
. ment. The foreign bom bring their habits and leave their
environment. They bring some good habits, and some habits
which cannot be continued in the American environment. Good
American living means an exchange and preservation of the
good food habits of all nations which are feasible in the
American environment. The school lunch thus becomes, an
important feature in naturalization.
8. Competition can be stimulated by means of the keeping of
individual growth records (which should include normal and
actual weight and height) to indicate physical gains due to
proper eating.
9. Mothers whose interest in food has been awakened through
group feeding of their children — are especially receptive to —
A. Instruction in food values by home visitors.
B. Demonstrations — in selection and preparation — of
food to groups at schools — playgrounds, etc.
C. Formation of buying clubs — canning clubs, etc.
It is true that many excellent school lunches have been served in
various communities. But it is also true that they have, for the most
part, been regarded primarily as a convenient means of feeding hungry
children at noon, and that the purely educational possibilities have not
been developed. I have, within a few days, eaten a school lunch
which, so far as its preparation was concerned, was as nearly perfect
as it is possible to be. The food was well selected, well cooked, deli-
ciously flavored, and sold at a price well within the reach of the chil-
tlren. But there was no attempt to teach the children the food value
of what they were eating, and the lunch had no visible connection
with the excellent work which was being done in this same school in
the departments of domestic science, physical education, physiology and
[lygiene, medical inspection, or the school gardens. The principal of
this school was an alert and progressive man, who had merely to have
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72 CHILDREN
the idea of the advantages a correlation between the work of these
departments presented to him, in order to carry it over to his teachers*
Inside of 48 hours, he liad worked out and put into practice a system
of coordination of all of this health work, so that the attention of
every child in the school was focussed on the educational hearings of
the school lunch. The interest in the work of the other departments
^ew proportionately with the insight of the children into the practical
application of their work, as they saw it made concrete in the school
lunch, and the man who had made the correlation was more than de-
lighted with the results of his experiment. In that school, the
correlation of the work in the related branches to emphasize the edu-
cational value of the school lunch is no longer an experiment. It has
become an established part of the order of that school, to continue as
long as the school lunch is continued.
The New York Food Scouts
An interesting demonstration of the educational possibilities of
the school lunch was conducted during the past winter by the "Food
Scouts" of Public School No. 40, New York city, under the joint
auspices of the People's Institute, the Post-Graduate Hospital and the
New York School Lunch Committee. Twenty-five boys volunteered
to eat a well balanced mid-day meal — the kind of hot school lunch
every child should have — for a period of three months, in order to show
the other boys of New York, and ultimately of America, that it is the
patriotic duty of every boy and girl to-day to eat the food that will
help them grow into strong men and women for the America of to-
morrow.
Through the well chosen meals which these boys ate, as well as
through the reorganization of many of their general health habits by
the home visitor in connection with the experiment, there resulted an
appreciable gain in weight in these malnourished boys. Moreover,
through the extensive newspaper publicity which these experiments easily
gained, the public generally were taught many of the essentials of
proper nourishment. The following composition written by a ten year
old food scout, but six years out of Poland, shows that he read the
newspapers and learned to speak in calories as easily as he pronounces
his unpronounceable name. The terms used by this boy were gleaned
entirely from newspaper publicity, and offer a good example of uo-
concious education outside of the class-room.
The food scout* of P. S. 40 know what food is best for boys. They know that
coffee and lea are very bad for children.
The school chiJdren ought to have hot lunches containing 2,000 food units. Too
much meat given to children is bad. Light soup is bad. Soup ought to be cooked
with VERY many vegetables.
Vestetahle purer, oatmeal pudding with milk, einger bread and three dates nialpe
A good lunch, Succotash, one lamb chop, a cup of cocoa and a fig are also good (or
a sell 00 1 child.
Foodi containing wheat, milk, eggs and butter arc very good for children. Prunes
arc very braltby, for i^i^hteen tomatoes equal three prunes.
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EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES OF SCHOOL LUNCHEON — JEAN ^ 73
Nutrition Classes
Recently, we have developed in this country another method of
combating malnutrition through the utilization of the group spirit
which is deserving of special attention. I refer to the so-called mal-
nutrition clinic, or, better, the nutrition class, whose teachnique has been
developed by Dr. William P. Emerson at the Massachusetts General
Hospital and at the Home for Little Wanderers in Boston. Dr.
Charles Hendee Smith has been developing the same method in con-
nection with a class of malnourished children in Bellevue Hospital,
New York city. The children in these nutrition classes were sent
there because of some obscure illness or breakdown, due in the estimation
of the special physicians in other clinics, to malnutrition. This seems
like locking the bam after the horse has been stolen. It is much more
logical to prevent the condition than to cure it after the breakdown.
Therefore, Dr. Emerson, working with the Bureau of Educational Ex-
periments, has been conducting a nutrition class in a Public School on
the East Side in New York city, to demonstrate the feasibility of
gathering the children who arc markedly below par in their nutrition
into a special class for instruction and upbuilding, and thus using the
ounce of prevention which is better than a pound of cure.
The class method of caring for malnourished children has two pre-
eminent advantages. First, it saves the time of the persons conducting
the class, by enabling them to teach many children at once, with little
more effort than is required to care for a few. Second, the group spirit,
and the spirit of competition which can be aroused in the children
are potent forces in keeping up interest and effort.
Nutrition classes may be conducted in public schools, settlement
houses, summer camps, or the out-patient departments of hospitals. The
public school has the advantage over all other locations, for the reason
that it is easier to secure regular attendance there. Moreover, the
school is the logical place for emphasizing the educational aspect of
health training. This is especially true in schools which serve lunches,
for then we have, as already noted, excellent object lessons for instruc-
tion concerning diet.
In order that the educational value of the school lunch may be
fully developed, it is important that our public school teachers shall be
properly trained to teach health and dietetics. This means that the
normal schools of the country must recognize the need by putting ap-
propriate training courses into their curricula, just as they provide such
courses for the teaching of arithmetic and spelling. Unfortunately, few
of our public school teachers are prepared, at the present time, to
shoulder their responsibility in the problem. The facilities offered by
teachers' institutes and summer school courses should be utilized to the
utmost, in order to enable the teachers who have already been graduated
from the normal schools to supplement their training, and equip them-
selves to teach dietetics and health, as well as arithmetic and spelling.
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,74 • CHILDREN
A Call for Instructors
There IS a wide immediate demand for workers who can act as
a connecting link between the school lunch or the nutrition class and
the home. A graduate nurse with a good knowledge of dietetics and
social service training is perhaps ideally equipped for this work of home
visiton Some physicians, however, prefer as aides women who are
trained social investigators and home visitors, and who have^ in addi-
tion, some special 1 7.ed dietetic and health training.
These ideal workers are of course very scarce at the present time,
and to meet the immediate need an interesting War Emrgency Course
in Child Conservation was recently organized by the People^s Institute
of New York city, in co-operation with Teacher ^s College of Columbia
University- The course lasted six weeks and consisted of lectures and
demonstrations by experts in the various fields of child health, with
special emphasis on the problems of malnutrition and food for growing
children. This course might well serve as a model for other similar
courses elsewhere for meeting the present need of providing home visi-
tors equipped with the technical information which will enable them
to reach back into the homes of the children and see that instructions
regarding food and hygiene are actually put into practice as a founda-
tion for the health hahits which should be formed by all children.
In order to meet the pressing problem of malnutrition in Ameri-
can children, occasioned by the war, there has recently been formed a
national committee of eminent physicians, specialists in the diseases of
children, and of wellknown educators, who are urging the establishment
of school lunches everywhere for their educational value. Under the
name of The Child Health 0^gani^ation, whose chairman is Dr. L.
Emmett Holt, they are formulating plans for seeing that the public
schools of the country teach health habits to children, that adequate
health examinations are given, and health records are kept for all chil-
dren, to accompany the scholarship records of the children throughout
their scheol life. The literature of the organization explains how to
conduct a malnutrition survey, how to conduct a malnutrition class^
and what are the essentials of the dtet of school children. It may be
procured from the Child Health Organization, 289 Fourth Avenue,
New York*
Valuable food charts which will appeal to both the children and
their parents, and w^hich will be exceedingly helpful to anyone intent
on developing the educational possibilities of the school lunch, or to the
visiting teacher of health and dietetics, are those prepared by the As-
sociation for Improving the Condition of the Poor, of New York, under
the direction of Lucy Gillett, The charts and posters of the National
Child Welfare Association, New Yorkj and those prepared by Dn
Thomas Wood of Teachers* College, Columbia University, are very
hclpfuL An exhibit of wax food models, illustrating hundred-calory
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FEEDING THE FAMILY — ^DAVIS
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portions of common foods, will be found to be of great advantage in
teaching food values in an attractive and easy way to both children and
parents. These models may be purchased from the Plastic Art Com-
pany, 1495 Third Avenue, New York.
FEEDING THE FAMILY: A PROBLEM AND A METHOD
FOR SOCIAL WORKERS IN WAR TIME
Michael M, DaviSj Jr., Ph. D., Director of the Boston Dispensary
What are social workers doing to see that the families with which
they deal are adequately nourished during these days of war pricte and
difficult food conditions?
Perhaps some will answer this by declaring the question to be un-
necessary. Perhaps there are some who believe that with rising wages
and steady employment every one today is prosperous enough to be well
fed. Are there any here who cling to this fallacy? Let them examine
the facts for themselves.
Since the opening of the European war, the cost of food has in-
creased fully fifty per cent. Wages in some trades have increased in a
very much higher ratio than this, yet as shown by the reports of the
Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average increase in wages among
a number of representative groups has been less than half of the increase
in food cost.
We are always in danger of being misled by the easy use of the word
average. An average rise of wages is made up of a few cases in which
there has been a very large rise, plus a smaller number of cases in which
there has been some considerable rise, but it also includes a large number
in which the rise in wages has been small and many in which there has
been no change in wages at all. If a law were proposed, that every man
under five feet four inches should have his right hand cut off, proponents
for such a bill might argue that since the average height of Americans
is considerably more than five feet four inches the law would be reason-
able, since democracy must adapt its legislation to average conditions.
The objectors to the measure, however, would answer with the effective
retort, that while, of course, the tall men could take care of themselves,
there were a large number of short men who would lose their right hands
if the law were passed, and that it must be somebody's business to stand
up for those little fellows.
Now that is exactly the responsibility which falls on social workers,
these days, above all days, to stand up for the little fellows, for the wage-
earners whose incomes have gone up hardly at all, for the families who
were just keeping their heads above water a while ago, and who are now
in danger of being submerged, for the famih'es who had to be helped pre-
vious to war prices and who need now more help than before. How
far have standards of relief, as administered by social agencies, been re-
vised upward to square with the rise in the cost of food ? How far have
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76 CHILDREN
case-working agencies informed themselves of the food supply of their
families, and of its adequacy or inadequacy under present conditions?
How far, in other words, have social agencies actually armed themselves
with knowledge, and, therefore, with power, to stand up for the ^'little
fellows"?
Recent Studies
The figures quoted concerning the rise in food and in wages must
not lead us to forget the fact that food is only one clement in the cost
of living, and that other elements, notably rent, have not risen nearly so
much as food. Yet on the whole, the important point to us is, there
are large numbers of families in every community whose income has
Increased very little, sometimes not at all, while the cost of living has
risen all along the line. Food, the most vital element in the cost of liv-
ing, has risen most of all. What most matters to us is not an average
rise in family income, but the fact that there are thousands of families
whose incomes are still only $12 or $15 a week, on which parents and
three or four children are expected to subsist. The conditions of such
families are vividly illustrated in the pamphlet just published by the
Committee on Home Economics of the New York Charity Organiza-
tion Society, My Money Wont Reach. That pamphlet is worth placin^^
in the hands of every employer who has to double the wages of a certain
number of skilled workers, and who has, therefore, become convinced
that nil wage-earning families today are prosperous, if not obese.
The eflFect of conditions of prices and wages upon the food supply
pf families is not a question of theory, but a matter of demonstrable fact.
The New York As^ciation for Improving the Condition of the Poor,
in its pamphlet on A Study of the Adequacy and Economy of Some City
Dietaries, gave an account of a careful investigation of the food supply
of ninety- two families, mostly in New York City, during 1914 and
1915. This study showed that 59 per cent of these families were re-
ceiving less than 3,000 calorie standard of food energy per man per day,
and that 36 per cent of the families were under a 2,500 calorie standard*
This means a serious lack of adequate food supply.
The diminished use of milk, as shown by certain investigations in
New York City, and the studies in New York indicating that one-third
of the school children are decidedly under-nourished, will probably be
referred to by other speakers at this session. In Boston the League for
Preventive Work conducted a study last summer of over 200 families*
Twenty-eight and one-half per cent of these families were found to be
receiving an adequate food supply, measured in terms of the energ>' sup-
plied. These families were selected from those known to six of the
social case-work agencies of Boston. The majority of these families
(three-quarters, in fact) were above the poverty line and not in rereipt
of material aid. Of the 198 families to whom the preceding figures
relate there were 50 who were receiving material aid from charitable
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FEEDING THE FAMILY — ^DAVIS
77
societies in Boston. Among these fifty families 42 per cent were found
to be receiving inadequate nourishment. Were the social agencies look-
ing after these families adequately? I would ask a more important
FORM I
"""""" BOSTON DISPENSARY FOOD CLINIC
T**™.* Date of How Vi»it Vi»itOf S.S. «»
IHTlClLil or FCOD
QUANTITY PURCHASED
I Pi FAUILV LAST WEEK
AMOUNT SPENT
MEALS or vesrsra«v (ii.*. fmk v>* «i
on I CO
CAfdMlD
MUX
SACtM
ua Pamtt
DtUCATLSiCM
FllH, FRESM
{ALT &R CimHlO
Ifilfl, WHOLE
CU«itQ
PtWiUT SUTTIR
CLRULl
POfATOlt
toco* L CN9COUTI
lUCUR
itnuP 4 liQLASStl
tA"3f
lUtUn SLTUTlTUTU
OU
tit
Tour l.fH>nw fw Food fof Week $
Woight lb*.
Meili (FiPf^ulif Of iri^ular? If Utter, wheit and hew?)
GiTh'Hg (Kov much aitd how often 7)
Sl>«fi»Mt Ihtrtt Ut«z "*) koun. (Alone Of with whom ?)
W»fimf CfA^KwAt i!lvo«n, overtime, Ivnch arrai
Ofhi' CoidilpeM
Specniil fm^ Mwm^M an^ hew far met at heme
Form Nitmber I and form Number II arc brought to the Food Clinic at the time the
^tiest arrive*. They are filled out by the social worker to whom the case is referred.
Form Number I is a food record of the family containing certain facts regarding the
particular member of the family who is the patient.
This^form is filled out by the social worker in conference with the mother, either in
th« home or eliewhcre.
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CHILDREN
question; Did the social agencies know whether they were looking after
these families adequately? No, we did not know, not until we made
this investigation and found the food facts of the families.
The Opporiunity and Re^pomibiiity of Social Agencies
I mention this Boston study, particularly, because it %vas made ac-
cording to a method which I believe is generadly applicable among social
agencies* The study of the food purchased by the famifies was not made
by trained dietitians from these agencies^ but by the regular staff of
social workers. Each worker selected one or several families whom she
FORM U
"* BOSTON DISPENSARY FOOD CUNIC
lUNI
ADOItESS
$ s Na
fAHILT
ACt
--"-« . ;.":«; 1 — "
CLL*4y'r4«iif Mamz
itt mm ■
liar ftPtu Kiim.Ti.
mt^m Vdt p
linWJJ8.T»Ti4. ftf U*uiL jftUltfLJlCtHir %
nEPAHATIDN or ^tt,l3
ei*HHI-^l« AT Hdal; r
ntaoit roR nfPEntNC rA«iLV t^ foa^ cumn
DllHT W >. %. IICO^B HTM P.'Tt(liL.4« tttrtttiri
IHtDf ar s IE wqaLi
Form Uumber II it part of a general ease wort ahett for family tQvesliji^don. Tfaid,
like Number I^ in filled out by the sr^cial worker. The general itivceti nation of the family
made hy the aociaJ worker supplies most of ihe infomatton needed for ihia forrn. In fact,
the general casework retard card could be ueed instead of tbii form, adding the apei^iaJ
iieoiB £di^u-Eilnff thi^ Dfcoa ration of meals.
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FEEDING THE FAMILY — ^DAVIS
79
knew, so as to have a reasonably easy approach to the mother. Only
families in whtch there were children were taken. Provided with a list
of the common foods, she went to the mother and secured a list of the
purchases made during the preceding week.* I do not consider that
such a method yields as complete and accurate a figure of the food sup-
ply of a family as if we could get that faimly to weigh portions served
and food wasted, each meal of each day for a week. But the latter
method is hardly practicable in one family in a thousand. The former
method, the one which was used in our Boston study, is practicable in a
great many families, and if carried out by social workers, under careful
supervision, is capable of yielding facts of great practical importance to
FORM in
■orroN otsmoAiiY rooo cumc
J?"
,<!&. /"
\'^i^t-<^
Form M%mhcY III is used in the Food Clinic itself. It is designed to furnifib a run-
ning biatary of tbe case after the facts have been covered and the dietitian has bf js^n a
scries of conferrnce^.s with the mother of the family. The Clinic is equipped with stove and
uie nails for cooking ao that demonstrations can be held for individuals or for very imall
groupa.
the welfare of the families, and to the standards of the relief and other
case-work conducted by the agencies: facts which are likely to be eye-
openers, even pocket-openers, if they are brought into appropriate rela-
tions with a check-book.
The responsibility of sodal workers, as a class, for dealing with the
food problems of their families today, rests particularly upon three types
of social agencies:
1. Rtlitf agencies, which must administer material aid for the actual main-
tenance of needy families. Do relief agencies know the local food facts in tbeir
communities^ and the present food facts and budgets of their families, so as ta
know whether their financial standards of relief need revision, and where and bow
much they need to be revised?
2. Child-carinq societies, particularly those placing out children. These locie-
ties niuat pay for tne support and board of children in foster homes. They must
pay adequately or the children will be ujiderfed in manv instances. Have they
studied the food facts of their children and their foster homes, so as to be able
wistly to revise their standards of payment, and to guide the food purchases for
their children in the foster homes under present abnormal food conditions?
3. Afedicai agencies: hospitals^ dispensaries, and particularly the social service
departmcntsn These medical agencies must diagnose and care for illness, incltiding
malnutrition » and raut seek to prevent these evils. How far have these inedjc:il
agencies, particularly the dispensaries, social service departments, and visiting
nurses* assncintions, conducted studies and surveys concerning under-nutrition
among their patients, particularly among the children?
How shall these social agencies deal with the present food problems
of their families? The first step is to adopt as a principle of case work
the following rule: Under present conditions no investigation of d family
* The data were analyzed under the supervision of dietitians, so as to be able to deter^
mine the chief errnrs in diet and the extent of malnutrition. The methods and resuUs
of tfais study were described in detail in a pamphlet issued by the League for Preventive
Work, 46 Corn hill I Boston, at ten cents a copy.
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CHILDREN
by a social agency should be regarded as complete^ unless it includes an
investigation of the family's purchases and use of food.
A Practical Policy for Social Agencies
How can this principle be made effective in practice? It does not
require a trained dietitian to carry it out, although the services of a
dietitian are of great value as a consultant. Following the studies re-
ferred to in Boston last summer and autumn, I have been led to take
up this question to see how far it would be practical for social agencies,
not having a staff of dietitians, to make investigation of the food facts
of their families, sufficient to be of considerable semce in helping these
families actually to attain more adequate living standards. With this
paper I am submitting forms which we have tried out at the Boston
Dispensary during recent months. The essential form is a list of the
most commonly used foods, with spaces for filling in the amount pur-
chased of each food during the preceding week by the family and also the
amount spent. There are also spaces for describing sample mealsj taking
yesterday's meals as examples. Other general facts about the constitu-
tion of the family, the earnings, the home equipment for cooking, etc.,
are included.
This schedule is the result of a sufficient amount of experimental
case-work to convince me that it can be employed by any social worker
of reasonable experience with families, and that the facts regarding the
family's use of food can be secured with sufficient accuracy and detail
to be of service. The extent of this service will depend considerably
upon the wisdom of the social worker or the supen'ifor in interpreting
the food facts after they have been secured. At this point a dietitian, as
consultant, will be of ^eat value. At the Boston Dispensary^ we have
established a Food Clinic during this year, this being essentially a con-
sultant dietitian to whom our social workers bring these food schedules.
The talk by the dietitian with the mother of the family is based upon
the knowledge gained by the dietitian from the schedules. But the social
worker, whose contact with the family give her an opportunity for ac-
complishing results, must help to get over into the mother's mind the
program and needs indicated by the dietitian. There are certain types
of families whose poverty is so extreme, or whose ignorance or recal-
citrance is so considerable, that nothing can be done short of the most
intensive and expensive work in the home. But there are a larger num-
ber of families, presenting serious food problems at the present time» who
can be greatly helped by advice. Yet no intelligent advice can be given
except on the basis of the food facts which have been secured in some
such manner as indicated.
Central Dietetic Bureau in Boston
The League for Preventive Work in Boston has, as a result of the
studies referred to, carried this plan a step farther, and in July will
undertake the administration of a Central Dietetic Bureau, consisting
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FEEDING THE FAMILY^ — DAVIS SI
essentially of consultant dietitians available to the social workers of a
number of co-operating agencies. The dietitians in this respect are per-
haps comparable to the doctors. Doctors are scarce today and so are
dietitions* We must make doctors and dietitians go as far as we can
today, partly because they are few and partly because we need them more
than usual. We do not waste the doctor's time in taking hfm around
to many homes; wc bring the patient to him in most instances, at the
hospital or the dispensary- The dietitian must be placed in the same
position- The social worker must stand between her and the family,
collecting what we might call the raw food facts, and incidentally mak-
ing themselves better and wiser social workers by the process of collecting.
There are societies here which have children under their care. Are
tfiese children starving? Far from it. We should never let them starve.
But are they half starving? A child that is under-nourished, that is not
growing as a chi!d should, is in plain English half-starved, A survey of
the health and the food supply of every child for which every children's
agency is responsible is a first-line duty today. If we know the condi-
tions, we shall be able to improve them when improvement is necessary.
Every child ought to have a physical examination ; every family in whicli
we are responsible for a child should have its food supply studied ac-
cording to some definite method. The method which I have described is
one which I trust may prove of some practical stimulus*
I hope that as this program is taken up, it may lead to securing facts
which will cause social agencies to see that some of their families have
more milk for their children; that some families become willing to buy
less meat and more milk and vegetables; that some families are given
double boilers if they cannot afford to buy them, so that these families
can cook cereals as a variation from corn -flakes, bread and tea.
We do not need to minimize the value of a dietitian^ or to relax
our efforts to get dietitians into our societies as often as we can, par*
ticularly to get dietitians in as consultants and advisors, rather than aa
case workers. But do not let us fail to take action on the food problems
in our families because we have not dietitians at hand, or imagine that
we can shift our responsibility in this matter because we are not or have
not dietitians. Every one of us, in his or her own family, has to solve
a food problem today* So have "our'' families in social work* We can
help them and it is our duty as social workers, or as executives of social
agencies^ to help them all we can, to make our standards conform to
their present needs.
First of all, we must secure the facts; second, we must bring our
practical judgment to bear on these facts, to revise our relief standards
upwards if the facts indicate; to pay more than $6 or more than $10 a
week if the need so demands; to add trained nurses or dietitians to our
staff, and to utilize doctors or dispensaries for periodical physical exami-
nations and medical supervision of the under-nourished. We are in the
midst of tremendous dietary and economic changes brought aL^jut by
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82 CHILDREN
the war. We ought to keep in touch with these by constant investiga*
tion and continued thought. We ought to be prepared to deal with con-
ditions as we find them, putting aside tradition when neces?iary; and
following fearlessly, with all the courageous imagination and practical
wisdom that we can command, wherever our facts and our ideals may
lead us.
THE INTER-RELATION OF EDUCATION AND CHILD
WELFARE
A luncheon meeting of the Division on Children, with public school
teachers of Kansas City, was held on Saturday, May 18, at 12:30, the
subject being, "The Inter-Relations of Education and Child Welfare."
The great number and variety of inter-relations between these two
organized efforts were emphasized by all the speakers. The conclusion
was reached by the meeting that there should be an authoritative study
and formulation of the philosophy and inter-relations of education and
child welfare work. It was the unanimous opinion of those present
that this formulation should be in the form of a report by a joint com-
mittee composed of members from the Children's Division of the Na-
tional Conference of Social Work and the National Educational Asso-
ciation. The executive committee of the Children's Division were in-
structed to secure the appointment of such a joint committee if pos-
sible. The speakers included President Woods; Sherman C Kingsley,
Geveland; Willard S. Small, Washington; Rev. A. M. O'Neill, Roches-
ter; Prof. W. A. Lewis and George Melcher, Kansas City. Tlie two speak-
ers last named represented the superintendent of schools and teachers of
Kansas City.
MINIMUM STANDARDS OF CHILD PROTECTION AND
HOME CARE
This was the subject of an excellent address by Mr. Artlnir W. Townc^
of the Brooklyn Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Unfor-
tunately, this has not been presented in written form. It is tli ere fore possi-
ble to give only the account of informal discussions that followed.
1. Charles L, Chute, scretary of the National Probation Associa-
tion, Albany, N. Y., in discussion called attention to the fact that al-
though the juvenile court has been an institution in this country for
nearly twenty years and is familiar to all social workers, only a small
part of the country geographically has the services of such a court.
It is a fact that children are still being tried as criminals in adult
criminal courts all over the country. Only a few states have state-wide
juvenile court laws, and in most of these the courts are not uniformly
or effectively administered throughout the state. We have just listened
to a preliminary report from the questionnaire sent out by the Federal
Children's Bureau to all parts of the country. From this questionnaire
it is apparent that only one-half of the juvenile courts which have been
established have paid probation officers. Imagine administering a
juvenile court without probation officers. Children's courts also in some
of our largest cities are hampered by the restrictions of crirninal lawj
and still try children as offenders rather than as wards of the state
subject to its protection and if need be discipline. All of these facts, it
seems to me, illustrate the danger that a good theory may far exceed
practice. We have got to bring the mass of the people with us w^hen it
comes to reforming public institutions like courts. We have got to
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SOCIAL WORK IN RURAL COMMUNITIES — CURRY
83
constantly educate along this line as we have a long distance yet to go.
2. John P. Sanderson, Jr., executive secretary of the Connecticut
Children's Aid Society, Hartford, ^^hile recognizing that the removal
of a child from its own home is often desirable, urged that greater care
be exercised in returning the child as soon as conditions warrant it
and that more effort be made to rehabilitate the home so as to make
it a fit place for the child's return. He cited instances where, after
children had been removed and placed in good foster homes, nothing
had been done tov^-ard reestablishing the normal home and the parents
had suffered an injustice by the organization deliberately weaning the
children away from their home.
3. Maurice Tayhr, of th-e Massachusetts Society for the Preven-
tion of Cruelty to Children, Greenfield, called attention to the fact that
through temporary legal guardianship it is often possible to place a
child even in situations tlfat have some risk attached to them with the
hope that matters may straighten out.
4. One speaker raised the question of how to get courts to act
in the removal of children from thoroughly bad homes when they are
averse to taking action. Another lamented the fact that in many states
there is no properly organized body in charge of child welfare work.
The plan of the Philadelphia Children's Bureau for securing cooperation
of a number of agencies was commended.
5. Other speakers on informal discussion of this subject were:
Rev. A. M, O'Neill. Rochester, N. Y.; Helen M. Jewell, Chicago; Robert
C, Dexter, Montreal: James E. Ewers, Cleveland; David J. Terry, Pitts-
burgh; J. Bruce By all, Philadelphia; Mrs. J. L. Green, Jackson, Miss,;
Rev- A. J. D. Haupt, St. Paul, Minn.; George M. Bates, Tulsa. Okla,;
Dr, Margaret W, Koenig, Lincoln, Neb.; J. J. Gascoyne, Newark, N. J.;
Maurice Taylor, Greenfield, Mass.; George R. Bedinger, Detroit.
THE STATUS OF SOCIAL WORK IN RURAL
COMMUNITIES
H. Ida Curry, Superintendent, Children's Agencies, State Charities Aid
Association, New York
At last year's Conference of Social Work, a call was issued for an
informal breakfast conference for rural social workers. It was hoped
that some plan might be evolved whereby those interested could exchange
information in regard to rural social activities. A goodly number of
delegates appeared at the early hour appointed for the meeting. During
the discussion, it became evident that (1) no one knew the nature and
extent of rural social work that was being carried on in any of the
states, and (2) practically the same work was being carried on under
various types of organization.
As a result of the conference, a committee of seven was appointed
to gather information as to the nature and the extent of rural social
work throughout the country, and to suggest, if possible, a plan for the
exchange of information among organizations doing such work. The
committee named consists of:
Mr* C. C. C^rsteuB, General Secretary, Massachusetts Society for tii<
Prevention of Cruelty to Children;
Mr. William H. Davenport, Executive Secretary, Prisoners' Aid Asflo*
ciatioti of Maryland;
MLss Bcsate McCletiahan, State University of Iowa;
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Miss Mary E. Lcnt» Asaociate Secretary, Nnfional Organi ration for
Public Health Kuretngj
Mr. E. C, Litidemnnn, State Boyi* Club Leader, Eaat Lansing, Mich.
Prof* Arthur J. Todd, University of iMinneaota;
with the speaker as chairman.
Field and Method of Study
The definition of '* rural" as a "community of less than 2500 popula-
tion," as given in the United States census reports, was adopted. Simple
schedules were prepared which asked for: (I) the name of the activity;
(2) its auspices, vv^hethcr church, grange, school, etc.; (3) its location;
the character of the district cove red ^whether a town or village between
1000 and 2500 population, a town or village under 1000 population, or a
district with a scattered country population ; (p4) the primary interest
or object of the activity; (5) the name ajid address of its executive or
of some interested person; and (6) the kind of service rendered— home
nursing, outdoor recreation, indoor entertainment^ family aid, probation,
child care, etc.
These schedules were sent to state universities and agricultural col*
leges, ^cretaries of state boards of chariti<^, secretaries of state confer-
ences of charities, secretaries of state granges, chanty organization socie-
ties in smaller communities, children's societies belonging: to the Bureau
for the Exchange of Information, Y. M. C. A. and Y, W, C* A. secre-
taries, and a number of individuals specially selected*
Those to whom the schedules were sent were asked to indicate any
known organizations doing rural work within their states, together with
as much of the data called for as could he furnished. The majority of
the early replies either informed us that the schedule was being passed
on to someone else, or advised us to write to someone else for the infor-
mation desired. Persistent correspondence, however, has secured consider-
able information covering 29 states, which it may be of interest to review.
As was anticipated, in practically no state was there an agency found
which could give a list of rural social activities which even approached
completeness. Delaware was an encouraging exception. Certain omis-
sions were surprising. In no instance was a child labor committee named,
although such committees exist in at least 35 states, in many of which
great attention has been paid to rural child labor problems. In no case
except in Cook county, Illinois, was infant welfare work mentioned.
Juvenile courts or a probation system were named in but 8 states, although
there arc juvenile courts or probation officers covering rural districts in
no less than 18,
The incompleteness of the information is apparent. No data in
regard to 19 states has reached us. Therefore, deductions of a very gen-
eral character, only, are possible.
Considering the material in hand, agencies interested in rural social
and health conditions seem to fall into three general classes: (1) organi-
zations under public control and supervision; (2) organizations under
private control and supervision; and (3) war emergency organizations,
generally semi-public in their character.
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SOCIAL WORK IN RUILAL COMMUNITIES — CURRV 85
■ SOCIA
■ Puhllc Agencies
B Amon^ the public agencies, we find that the federal government
through the Department of Agriculture ts stimulating the organization
of farm bureaus. Every state now has one or more county agents, and
home demonstrators are also found in many counties. Over 5600 men
and women already arc employed in this work, in more than 2400 coun-
ties in the United States. The farm bureaus, through county agents and
. hume demonstration agents, have organized Home Makers' and Canning
I clubs, Farmers' clubs, Boj-s* and Girls' clubs of various kinds, including
Pig and Corn clubs, and those of siimlar nature. The farm bureaus bid
fair to be a more widespread rural social agency than has yet h^^n estab-
lished, and an exceedingly useful one.
7"he other public agencies arc under state or county supervision and
control. Among these the public education departments are most widely
represented, these being stimulated by the federal Bureau of Education,
The extension departments of state universities and agricultural schools
have been extremely active in some of the states in organising and in
fostering movements for the social betterment of the rural districts.
State and district superintendents of schools in many of the states have
organized very effective social work. The development of schools, espe-
Icially of consolidated schools, as social centers, is notable in many statr^j
particularly in some of the south, and in the middle west. In South
Carolina the schools have organized such interesting social functions as
"all day singings," "fiddlers* conventions/' In North Carolina the state
has adopted a moving picture program for the rural schools. Parent-
teachers* associations are found in many states, and arc most useful social
agencies.
b In but one instance was a school visitor cited, althout^h substituting
■ school visitors for attendance officers in ali rural school districts would
seem desirable. In Cook county, Illinois, we find a most interesting
1 work in the county outside of the city of Chicago, under the direction of
f the superintendent of schools. Under this compulsory school home proj-
ect, every pupil over the age of ten must be instructed in some practical
work in the garden, in chicken or stock raising or canning, or in some
other practical home subject. There are also stKial center activities, com-
munity festivals, and a variety of social movements. There is also in
Cook countj-^ a Bureau of Social Service which has developed a complete
nursing service for the rural parts of the county, and is doing much to
meet the other social needs of the county.
Among other public agenciej? must be mentioned the juvenile courts
and the probation system for adults and for children, ahhouj^h these are
effectively covering but a comparatively limited rural territory in the
United States. Illinois, New Jersey and all the New England stateSi
exdept Maine, arc among the states having county probation officers, and
New York has county officers in more than half the counties.
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86 CHILDREN
The administration of pensions to mothers is a useful social influ-
ence in rural sections of the states in which they are granted.
Many state boards of charity, under whatever name known, have
well defined social activities which reach the rural parts of their re-
spective states. The Indiana boards of county charities and county boards
of children's guardians, the Massachusetts board's Division of Minor
Wards, the new Minnesota Children's Bureau, the Ohio Children's
Welfare Department, with its bureau of juvenile research, are but types
of the social organizations of central state boards.
State boards of health have been active in stimulating rural nursing
service, and to a more limited extent in establishing clinics* In many
instances the interest of these boards has been manipulated mainly in
rural sections through measures for the prevention of tuberculosis; but
the public health nurse is gradually superseding the tuberculosis nurse
in many of the states, and broader health program will follow more rap-
idly as the nursiag service is extended out of the city into the countiy.
In two instances only is a rural dental clinic mentioned, one being con-
ducted in a barber shop on off days.
In Vermont, and on a larger scale in New York, the boards of
health have carried clinics for the after-care of infantile paralysis to the
very doors of the most rural and humble inhabitants of the state. At
these clinics the most expert orthopedic advice was furnished by the state
to those who could have secured it in no other way. This method of
reaching the victims of infantile paralysis has recently been followed in
other states, and in each instance, state nurses and muscle trainers have
been left in the field to visit the homes of the patients. As the aim of these
clinics is to prevent deformities, and not to cure or to prevent disease,
this work becomes a social service rather than a purely health measure,
and seems to point a way of bringing to rural communities that expert
medical advise of which they stand so much in need.
In a few states the public libraries have actively undertaken a rural
development, notably in Delaware, and parts of Pennsylvania and Mary-
land, where book wagons are sent into the rural districts, and where some
of the librarians on these wagons have become very genuinely social
agents.
Private Agencies
Among private agencies we find a large group of national associa-
tions, each interested in organizing one phase of social effort throughout
the country — the National Child Labor Committee, the Playground and
Recreation Association, and others equally well known. The Rocke-
feller and the Russell Sage Foundations have also assisted in bettering
rural social conditions in the states in various ways.
Turning to the private agencies in the states, we fiml two groups.
One group consists of those having national organization and control,
such as the granges, Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, Young Men's Chris-
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SOCIAL WORK IN RURAL COMMUNITIES — CURRY 87
tian Assoctations and Young Women's Christian Associations, Chau-
tauqua Circles, etc., each of social value in the communities it affects.
Of this national group by far the most widespread in its influence is the
Grange — reaching into most of the states, and covering practically all of
the niral territory wherever organized. The Y. M. C. A. and the Y. W.
C, A, have county units at many points in the country which are doing
excellent worlt.
Distinguished from the foregoing are certain classes of state, county
and local agencies having chiefly a local origin and scope. These divide
themselves into three groups. First are the societies for the promotion
of state programs for the improvement of social and health conditions,
such as the New York State Charities Aid Association, and somewhat
similar organisations in New jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and
Ohio, and the anti-tuberculosis. societies which exist in numerous states.
In New York state the Woman Suffrage Party has organized a commit-
tee on rural conditions which is actively interesting itself in furthering
social programs affecting rural conditions.
Secondly should be named the societies organized locally to admin-
ister social and health measures, such as village improvement societies
and community welfare associations ; child helping societies ; district nurs-
ing and relief societies; clubs of men, of women and of children, each
organised to handle some bit of local work, usually in the center of
population m rhe county, but, in all too few cases, reaching into the more
rural sections.
The county agencies for dependent children of the New York State
Charities? Aid Association, and the county branches of the Massachusetts
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children are examples of stand-
ard welfare effort under the auspices of state societies which is reaching
rural problems. The Monmouth county branch of the New Jersey State
Chanties Aid and Prison Reform Association has developed very exten-
sive social work in the county of which Red Bank is the county seat.
Its activities include child welfare, probation, nursing, and recreation, and
in addition it is concerned with social legislation and varous lines of inves-
tigarion.
Rural recreation apparently has been organized in very few places
of less than 2500 population, although rural centers other than those
connected with schools are cited in nine states — at one point in seven of
them, and at two points in the other two states.
In the third place should be listed the churches that have organized
to meet the social needs of their communities, and that have become cen-
ters of social and recreational activity. Such development usually hinges
on one strong personality. In some states there are church or Sunday
school commitiees on rural conditions, which stimulate the social activi-
ties of the rural churches.
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CHILDREN
H^ar Activities
In the third general group are the war emergency organizations,
represented by the National Red Cross^ with its Home Service Sections,
and the Council of National Defense^ with men's committees and women's
committees in the states and in the counties, and with the special commit-
tees on child welfare under the Woman's Committee, In many states
there are Hume Defense Leagues organized by counties. The objects
and methods^ as well as tlie value, of these are too well known to require
explanation.
The Pr'mciph of Coordination
A stvdy of the organizations represented in the above outline shows
the vast variety of auspices under which social effort has developed in
rural communities. We find county probation officers, agents of charity
organization societies, agents for dependent children, the driver of a book
wagon, a visiting nurse, a Y. M. C. A. or a Y, W. C, A* ^cretary, a
home demonstration agent, a visitor from a state board of charitiesj a
sclioo! teacher, a representative of the home service section of the Red
Cross — each visiting in the homes of its respective communities, and each
rendering, or capable of rendering, practically the same sen' ice to the
families it visits, namely case work for each individual In the family*
We are led to exclaim with Shakespeare, "What's in a name?**
Rural w^ork in the several states has grown up in one spot after
another, to meet one condition or another, in quite a haphazard fashion,
without any well conceived plan. There is a woeful lack of knowledge
on the part of the individual societies as to what other agencies exist
within their own state, and even with their own territory. IThls was
illustrated by a letter from the chairman of a prominent state committee
in Missouri who wrote that In the whole state there was not a single
agency coming within the scope of our study — this in a state which has
within its borders since 1912 such a remarkable development of rural
work as the Porter Schoolhouse, to cite but one of the many activities
in Missouri. A county Y* W. C. A, secretary in Kansas, than which
there is no state with more widespread social activities, wrote that there
was no social" work in the state except that of the county Y. W- C A,
With such lack of mutual information on the part of rural agen-
cies, there can be no coordination, and the resulting development must
be sporadic and insufficient to the needs. Many counties have made sur-
veys, and a few localities, notably in I-^s Angeles, California, have made
serious attempts to coordinate all of the social activities within a county.
Barnstable county, on Cape Cod, has for three years had a committee of
five on cooperation for social service. The Missouri Children's Code
Commission recommended a practicable plan under county boards of
public welfare. These boards were expected to employ trained superin-
tendents with assistants who could be used by courts and schools as
attendance and probation officers; who could administer pensions to
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SOCIAL WORK IN RURAL COMMUNITIES — CURRY 89
mothers; act as agents of the stare employment bureau; as visitors to
persons released from state hospitals or state institutions; as inspectors of
almshousesj especially those still open to children ; and who could, in fact,
render any needed social service to the people of the county* The appoint-
mcnt of such boards in Missouri and nearby states is being pushed by the
National Public Welfare League,
North Carolina has established a State Bureau of Community
Service which plans to organize permanent Community Service Leases
throughout the state. This state board is composed of representatives of
the State Department of Agriculture, State Department of Education^
State Board of Health, State College of Agriculture and Mechanical
Arts, State Normal and Industrial College and State Farmers* Union.
Each Community Service League is to include a territory of at least
twenty square miles, and is to have committees on education, farm prog-
ress, cooperative marketing, healthy and on organization and social life.
To give the rural community more stability. North Carolina has enacted
a law permitting the incorporation or chartering of rural communities in
the same general way as are towns and cities. The law has not been ap-
plied as yet, but the plan is one deserving of study.
More recently the Council of National Defense has recommended
a plan to bring together all existing social agencies through the organiza-
tion of a community council in every school district. It has recom-
mended that county auxiliaries of each State Council of National De-
fense, and of the State Woman *s Division of the Council shall jointly
call county war conferences, to include the officers in charge of county
government activities^ representativTs of count}'' organizations and socie-
ties, of schools, of farm bureau committees, etc. The program for these
community councils when once organized is expected to include commu-
nity meetings and rallies; patriotic education; reports as to the resources
of the community; food; Americanization; community safeguards; labor
and industry; community thrift; community subscription to the liberty
loans and war savings and Red Cross, Y. M. C A., Knights of Colum-
bus and so forth; soldiers* aid work; coordination of all existing agencies
and those organized for war work; and the execution of requests issued
by the national government and by state and county councils.
The North Carolina plan is not dissimilar to the plan suggested by
the Council of National Defense, except that it is based on the needs
of the communit}' in normal times, and being a state agency, would be
permanent in character, while the similar organisation recommended by
the Council of National Defense is to meet a war emergency, and might
or might not retain its organization after the war is over.
A Plan for Systematic Organhaiion
A thorough organization of the interest in rural social problems is
thus seen to be in the minds of many groups. If a community, say a
county, could be organized under some committee, league or commission,
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90 ^ CHILDREN
with a sufRcient staff of all-round social agents and of public health
nur^s to cover the territory, it would seem etitirely practicable for the
field to be covered without duplication or waste of engery, m as to leave
no yawninj^ gaps between.
l^he experience of the New York State Charities Aid Association
with carefully selected county agents for dependent children^ who have
had previous training or experience in case work, has shown the possi-
bility of one social worker \n a small rural district becoming a general
practitioner, calling experts into consultation when needed, but render-
ing all of the types of social sen' ice which in the cities may best be ren-
dered by specialists in the various fields.
In speaking at a recent meeting in Paris^ Dr. Livingston Far rand
said :
We've never bcfti able to get the (public at home t tally lined up
behind social movcmcntB on a lar^e scftk, but here in France we're doitie
ilj and what we're doing will count in America as well aa in France.
Wc are wurking^ just a^ much for humanity in general as for any one
part of itr and the reaction at home of what we are dains htrt mAj be
greater than any of us guesA.
Must we wait longer before we take to our hearts the lesson which
is being spelled out in France by our own social leaders; that of carry-
ing to the people not a bit of relief \i'Ork here, and a probation officer
there — but a well defined, substantial, broad social program, which will
put our citizenship on the highest possible plane of physical and social
efficiency?
Any program, to be at all adequate, in addition to being a correlating
movement, must recn^nixe that variety of local conditions and needs
which is both natural and inevitable, and so it must be elastic enough to
meet local conditit^ns; it must be a growing, ever chanj^ing program, and
not a crystallized one, or one that is merely the present pet scheme of
some individual or association. Is not the time approaching for th«
formulation of such a program?
If the existing indepeniient organizations and forces are to be drawn
together and coordinated ; if comni unities are to be stimulated to more
completely meet their sfx:ial needs, if a complete social program is to be
evolved, a central hureau of information seems csi^ential.
In our judgment there should be In each state a center for the
registration of the rural social forces within that state, and for the ex-
change of information among them.
In addition, there should be one national registry, to which the state
registries could send data, and which could become an interstate clearing
house to which one could turn for information-
The committee belic%es that there is no nfitional agency which
could so fittingly carr>^ through this plan as could the National Confer-
ence of Social Work. We therefore recommend that the Executive Com-
mittee of the Conference be urgently requested to empower the General
Secretary' of the Conference to receive the data collected, and to add to
it, thus completing the directory of rural social work which has been
partially compiled.
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A STUDY OF ILLEGITIMACY — JONES 91
INFORMAL DISCUSSION
1. Judge Perry L. Fcrsous, of the juvenile court, Watikegaii, 111.,
safd he believed the proceedings ought to be instituted by someone other
than the probation officer who has been assigned to the case.
t>. Jlilfrcd S. Rcptolds, Illinois Children's Home and Aid Society,
Chicago, thought one way of improving the home conditions for chil-
dren in smaller communities is to start a nucleus of citizens around
any flagrant matter that comes to the attention of a society and let their
interests develop out of tt.
3. Questions raised on discussion included an inquiry as to whether
the problem of neglected children could be brought before the court
without a petition, and how it would be possible to bring a parent
before the court for the neglect of a child* One speaker advised that
probation work may he built up in rural communities on the basis of
volunteer service.
4. Other speakers on informal discussion of this subject were;
David J. Terry of Pittsburgh; William H. Jeffrey, Montpelier, Vt.;
Edward Murphy. Buffalo: Jesse F. Hanna, Belvidere. Ilk; Clara Kum-
mer, Detroit; Mrs. Hattie F. Hart^ Lafayette, La,; C. C. Carstens of
Boston.
A TENTATIVE OUTLINE FOR A STUDY ON
ILLEGITIMACY
Cheney C. JoneSj Dlrectar of CivUlan Relief, Pennsylvania-Delmvare
Divhhn, American Red Cross ^ Philadelphia
In The Surt^ey of September 13, 1913, in a comment on the idea
of a local conference on illegitimacy, occurs the following^ statement:
"Perhaps in no fieltl of social work are the factors less adjusted and the
issues more baffling than in that relating to unmarried mothers." This
statement still holds. Your sub-committee on this subject is just being
formed and can not at this time of course offer any comprehensive pro-
nouncement on the subject. The report oflfered this morning is not a
report, but more nearl>^ a series of questions designed to outline the
Sicope of this problem with a view to laying out the grovmd which this
Conference through Its membertji, committees and meetings should cover.
Little IS accurately known about this problem as a whole. We know in
a. general way that there are many children bom out of wedlock. It is
generally recognized that the po^^ition and conditions of these children in
society are deplorable. Illegitimacy as a social custom is recognized as a
social menace and as a consequence the illegitimate child as an individual
is more or less the object of our social wTath, This plainly is not fair
to the child. The question remains, however, as to how much we can
safely undertake in behalf of this child without encouraging the increase
of his number. Just now^ the emergency' of war, with all the accom-
panying responsibilities of industr\% makes people valuable, and we can
definitely count on greater interest in the protection of every child born.
How many illegitimate children are born? Nobody knows. What
becomes of these children? Nobody knows. What is our program for
•Report of Subcommittee on Probirm of the Unmarried Mather and Her Child,
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92 CHILDREN
them? There is no general and uniform program* This National Con-
ference of Social Work, with its comprehensive memhership, in co-opera-
tion with the Federal Children's Bureau ought to make it possible for us
to know how many such children are horn, to know what becomes of
them, and to establish a program for their protection, care, and training.
If we are to undertake this it must be with the conviction that the
problem is country-wide and much more siz;ahle than the attention given
it up to this time would indicate. We must aUo have in mind the fact
that a complete solution can not be found until at lea^^t four factors are
considered: the child, the mother, the father and the community. Too
often in the past our discussions have ignored t%vo or three of these, as
if the question could be settled from one aofjle alone.
With this in mind, we suggest the following tentative outline for
the discussions and studies of this Conference during the next few years:
/, Legal Aspect
First of all, there Is need of a comprehensive review of the lep^I
aspects of this subject. This should be approached from two angles, —
first, a brief but comprehensive historical treatment embracing a state-
ment of the Roman law, the Germanic law, the English laws of 1576
and 1845, the later Hungarian law and the more recent Nonvegian law.
VVith this historical ba^^is as a background, there should follow a more
complete review of the American development of maintenance laws and
the difficulties in our procedure in this matter And then we must deter-
mine such matters as whether the procedure should be criminal or civil,
w^hat plan of money settlement should be approved, whether a %veekly or
monthly payment basis is advisable and what later maintenance proceed-
ings may prove eflFective financially and still work no serious social dis-
aster from the standpoint of the various factors involved.
//, Physical and Ale die at Care of Another and Child
Another phase of our subject, on which there is special need for
careful consideration and an attempt at a more uniform practice, is the
physical and medical care of the mother and child, Wlmt practical safe-
guards and precautions can we give in the way of parental care? What
shall be the approved method of care during confinement? Shall this
be given in the home of the mother, in a public hospital, in a private
maternity home or other private hospital or institution, or shall we hope
to find it possible to work out a system of placing such mothers individ-
ually in family homes other than their own ? What shall be offered the
mother and child during the period immediately following confinement?
Shall it be the mother *s own home, a specialized private institution or a
supervised foster home?
///, The Baby's First Year
The third topic suggested presents a problem on which there is
great diversity of opinion and practice. Shall the mother and child be
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A STUDY OF ILLEGITIMACY — JONES ^
separated as soon as possible and the child placed out for adoption, or
shall they be kept together? If we are determined that for physical
reasons the child shall stay with the mother during the nursing period ^
will we then intend to make this permanent, and if so what are we going
to do for the mother and child during the following years clear through
the child's adolescence? Where shall the mother and child stay during
this fir^t year, — at the mother^s home? In many cases this is either
impracticable or impossible, and in many cases it is necessary for the
mother to earn. Will we prefer to place the mother with her child at
housework, or board them in some family, with the understanding: that
the mother is to go out to work for the support of both, the child being
cared for by the foster family during the mother's daily absmcc? To
what extent are we to urge the policy of bringing about a marriage and
attempting to establish a normal family? What is practical in the %vay
of education for these unmarried mothers, many of whom are young and
untrained?
IF. Society's Handicaps
Anyone who has dealt with these children at all recognizes the
many handicaps which menace the welfare of practically every cliild born
out of wedlock* The physical handicaps are evidenced by the hls:her
death rate discovered in practically every study thus far made. The social
handicaps are such as: (a) education abbreviated, (b) less vocational
training, (c) less opportunity for the normal experiences of home h'fe,
(d) from such evidence as we have, a greater record of delinquency and
criminality.
For meeting such handicaps we have now some ameliorative meas*
ures, such as the so-called Castberg law adopted in Norway, the German
guardianship courts, and in our own land such plans as arc included In
the law creating the Minnesota Children's Bureau and other more recent
legislation in several of our states. All these measures indicate a grow-
ing recognition of the responsibility of the state to equalize the oppor-
tunities of the illegitimate child with those of children born in wedlock.
It is of the greatest impojtance that this Conference through its Division
on Children study most carefolly the practical operation of all these
measures designed to meet the needs of this particular class of children,
and out of the variety select the best for a standard and build uniformly
toward that standard.
F. Relationship of Ilifginmacy to Other Social Problems
Just as, in discussinf^ any one of the outstanding general social
problems which perplex the world, we discover a definite relationship
existing between practically all of them, so when we consider illegitimacy
we must in all our study and conference keep in mind to what extent and
in what ways it is related to infant mortality, prostitution, marriage,
divorce, alcoholism. What per cent, of our infant mortality is of
illegitimate children and to what extent is this due to the particular
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94 CHILDREN
social handicaps and neglect which at present attach to such children?
What per cent, of our illegitimacy if^ clearly due to feeblemindedness? Is
there a relation between illegitimacy and prostitution? If so, what is
it? \Vliat bearing has alcoholism on our problem? Do our laws con-
trolling marriage and divorce have any effect upon the increase or de-
crease of illegitimacy^ and if so what can we provide in this respect to
improve family life? Such questions as these suggest the wide scope of
our particular problem and indicate how thoughtful we must be in
attempting to build our program.
VL National and Racial Aspects
With the information obtained from such a study as indicated above
we may hope to gather some intelligence also on the extent of illegitimacy
in various nations and among tlifferent racial groups. Such intelligence
will do a great deal to indicate both causes and remedial measures, and
ought to help us to wiser standards on w'hat constitutes socially ap-
proved birth. It is clearly the function of each generation to produce a
virile posterity, trained and equipped for a greater citizenship, and this
function should not be lost sight of in forming our laws of domestic
relations.
CHILDREN OF UNMARRIED AND OF ILLEGITIMATE
PARENTS: RECENT LEGISLATION IN MINNESOTA
AND ELSEWHERE
Otto W, Davis f Assistant Secretary, AUnneapolis Civic and Commerce
Association^ Me miter Alinneapolis Child JV elf are Commission
I am glad that whoever phrased the subject for this morning used
the words, 77; f Pro hi em of the Unmarried Al other and Her Child ,
rather than the expression, "Illegitimate Children/' which has appeared
so often on the program of this Conference. It seems to indicate progress
in the transformation that is going on respecting our point of view. It
indicates a consciousness of dissatisfaction with the old phraseology and a
reaching out alter something more accurate as well as more just. Even
the old word bastard in its original meaning of "false," or * "spurious,"
possessed advantages over the expression illegitimate child. A neater hit
of legal fiction than this latter term could scarcely be conceived. We
eliminated the word bastard from our Minnesota laws and wanted to
eliminate the words iUc^itimafe children, but in the brief time at the
disposal of OUT Commission, we were unable to work out a satisfactory
substitute term.
It would be impossible for me to discuss the problem of "the illegiti-
mate child t" for, to use a common expression, "There is no such animal."
However, there are to be found everywhere children of unmarried or of
illegitimate parents, and these are to be the objects of our thought this
morning.
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CHILDREN OF UNMARRIED AND ILLEGITIMATE PARENTS — DAVIS 95
However certain and definite evolution may be in the long run,
ir is at best a slow method of change. When it comes to a matter so
closely intertwined with our religion, with the sacred ideals of marriage
and family life, with our conceptions of morality, and with our secret
passions, we must indeed expect that changes will come very, very slowly.
For centuries, the child of unmarried parents was considered as
^'nobody's child." It is so considered today in some of our states. The
first step away from the conception of "nobody's child" was to make him
the child of his mother and to give her certain responsibilities. To this
has been added in many states the right of the child to inherit from his
mother and the mother from her child. In the process of evolution it
has become customary in some states to regard a subsequent marriage of
the parents as legitimizing children born before marriage, provided they
recognize the child as their own.
Within recent years, certain European countries, particularly
Switzerland, Russia, Sweden, Nor\vay and Denmark, have made changes
in their laws favorable to the legal position of the child and tending to
place more or less responsibility upon the illegitimate father for the
support of his offspring and its mother. So far as I have been able to
ascertain, the most progressive legislation abroad is that known as the
Castberg Law, which became effective in Norway January 1st, 1916.
Recent Progressive Legislation
In America, the apparent aim of such laws as we have had on this
matter has been to protect the community from any loss due to assistance
l^ivcn to the illegitimate mother and her child. Most of these laws are
without even a glimmer of any human interest in either the mother or
the child. As we became a bit more humane, the law was amended so
that the mother might get a small sum through settlement with the
child's father.
Up until 1917, when the Minnesota and North Dakota laws were
passed, the best provision in this country for these children and their
mothers, so far as I have been able to learn, was that contained in the
Massachusetts law. This law makes the person adjudicated the father
^'liable to contribute reasonably to the support of the child during
minority," and subject to all the orders of the court for the support and
maintenance of the child as provided for in cases of non-support (1913 —
563), The non-support law provides "the court in its discretion, having
regard to the circumstances and to the financial ability or earning capacity
of the defendant, shall have power to make an order, which shall be sub-
ject to change by the court from time to time as circumstances may
require, directing the defendant to pay a certain sum periodically, for a
term not exceeding two years" for the support of the wife or child.
(1911—456.)
The year 1917 saw some very advanced legislation regarding this
problem. The State Child Welfare Commissions in Minnesota and
Missouri recommended to their respective legislatures bills relating to
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96 CHILDREN
children of illegirimate parents that were very similar in purpose and
results aimed at. Unfortunately none of the Missouri bills passed ^ but^
with one exception, the Minnesota bills became law. At the same time
a member of the House of Representatives in North Dakota introduced
and secured the passage of the most advanced law existent in this coun-
try on this subject. It also has the merits of brevity, occupying but half
a page in the proceedings. The North Dakota law declares:
Every child 19 hereby declared to be the Ic^timate child qI its natural partnta,
And as w<h ia entitled to support and education to the same extent a& if it had
been born in lawful wedlock. It aball inhedt from its natural par^nt^t and from
tbeir kindred heir Uneal and collaleral.
Tbia section shal] apply to eaBca wliere the natural father of any such child
la married to one other than the mother of said child, as well! as where he ia
imgle. Provided, however, thi« law shall not be so construed as to ^ve to s^id
child a risibt to dwelling or a residence with the family of ita father, if such
father bt married.
Thft mother of any child horn out of lawful wedlock may, vviihin one year
after the birth of said child bring an action m the district court to cstablirih the
defendant to be its father. In such c^^es the parentage may be proved Hke any
other tact. Provided, that the mother of said child shall not he considered a com-
petent witness m any case where the alieaud natural father of said child ahalt be
dead at the tiine of the triaJ, Providedt that a statement in writinif may be made
by the parents of said child, admitting tb« parentage thereof, and upon which a
judgment may he entered*
You Will note that only two limitations are mentioned. The law
is not to be so construed as to give a "child a right to dwelling or a
residence with the family of its father, if such father be married/' and
the putative father must be living at the time of the triaL This law is
the ne plus ultra in legislation respecting the points covered.
The Minnesota Plan
The Minnesota laws respecting children of unmarried parents were
only a small but important part of the forty-three bills prepared and
recommended for passage by the Minnesota Child Welfare Commission^
thirty- five of which became law. To understand how the laws affecting
children of unmarried parents were expected to function^ we must know
the fundamental idea underlying the whole group. This basic principle
is "the proposition that the state is the ultimate guardian of children who
need what they cannot provide for them??elves and what natural or legal
guardians are not providing*" Theoretically, this sovereign right and
duty on the part of every government has long been recognized. Prac-
tically i no state prior to this time has created machinery for exercising
such guardianship, except as to limited groups. The first thing, there-
fore, that seemed necessary was to centralize so far as practicable the
authority and duty of the state in an official body, — to personify, so to
speak, the might of the state in an agency which could function for the
state in the task of helping needy children. In other %vords, what we
wanted to secure first was an effective piece of machinery to properly
Transform the strength of the state into action adequate to meet the need
of any child under any circumstances and however obscure.
We have in Minnesota what is known as the State Board of Con-
trol, having general control and supervision of all state institutions.
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CHILDREN OF UNMARRIED AND ILLEGITIMATE PARENTS — DAVIS 97
Fortunately, this board has the confidence of the citizens of the state, of
the members of the legislature, and of social workers, to a remarkable
degree. It wns decided to centralize the state's authority and duty to-
ward needy children in this board. Accordingly, the board was given
powers nf guardianship, not only of children committed to institutions
under its management, but also of children committed to its care, and it
was authorized, to quote the language of the law, "to make such provi-
sion for and disposition of the child as necessity and the best interests
of the child may from time to time require," except that no child is to be
placed in an institution for delinquents who has not been adjudged a
delinquent. It was upon this board that the express duty was laid of
represcntini^ the state in safeguarding the interests of children of unmar-
ried and of illegitimate parents. When notified of an unmarried woman
who has become a mother or who is about to do so, it becomes the duty
of the Board of Control "to take care that the interests of the child are
safef^uardcd, that appropriate steps are taken to establish his paternity and
that there is secured for him the nearest approximation to the care,
support and education to which he would be entitled if born of lawful
marriage/' In order to make more clear the responsibility of the board,
the law !;pecifically states that "for the better accomplishment of this
purpose, the board may initiate such legal or other action as is deemed
necessary" and "may make such provision for the care, maintenance and
education of the child as the best interests of the child may from time
to time require."
Not only this, but the girl away off in some corner of the state
who finds herself in trouble, who flees away to some lying-in-hospita'
to hide her shame, wrecked in body and mind, about to bring a new life
into the world, — this girl is no longer to remain without a friend, foi
after laying upon the board the duties just mentioned, the law adds:
"and may offer its aid and protection, in such ways as are found wise
and expedient, to the unmarried woman approaching motherhood."
The possibilities in the service that may be rendered under this
provision are simply beyond our comprehension. We do not know how
it is goin^ to work out. We have said to the board : "You shall do for
her and her child that which needs to be done, in order that this child
may occupy as nearly as possible his natural place in society." If that
one power alone had been given to the Board of Control, with none of
the others, it would have been a step in advance of anything else in our
country today, and would have itself afforded a wonderful opportunity,
calling for the very best that the board could give it.
Having thus created an agency to represent it in stretching forth
the arm of compassion, having told the agency that it can initiate any
action necessary to get results, even to the extent of furnishing help to
the unmarried woman approaching motherhood, the state proceeded to
outline further the methods by which these children are to be safe-
guarded.
It will be seen from what has been said that the state assumes that
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98 CHILDREN
eveiy child has a right to have two responsible, legal parents and that
where necessary the state shall institute suitable action to ensure this.
When a man has been adjudged to be the father, he immediately becomes
responsible for the care, maintenance and education, of the child, and
subject to all the penalties for failure to perform these duties that arc
imposed upon a legitimate father. Judgment may also be entered against
htm for expenses incurred by the county for the mother during her sick-
ness. It is also made possible for the mother *'to recover from the father
in a civil action all expenses necessarily incurred by her in connection
with her confinement, including suitable maintenance'' for eight weeks
before and after confinement, and for burial of the child.
In order to overcome the difficulty caused by the reluctance nf many
unmarried mothers to file a complaint against the alleged father, the
State Board of Control, or any person appointed to perform the duties
of this board relating to children, may take the initiative. When a
physician is called as a witness concerning the probable date of concep-
tion» he may testify without the consent of his patient.
l^he action necessary to obtain support is made more simple through
a new definition in the Juvenile Court Law of the term dependent child,
which is made to include "a child who is illegitimate,**
One of the important objectives to be gained in these cases is to
protect the mother and child from unnecessary^ publicity. The law,
therefore, provides that the judge "may at his discretion, and at the
request of either party shall exclude the general public from attendance
at such examination." It further provides that all records of court pro-
ceedings shall be withheld from inspection except upon order of the
court.
Primary Purpose of Legislation
Toward the end of the chapter, there is a declaration of principles
which, while referred to by some as merely a bit of rhetoric, will, to those
of us in social work, convey a meaning seldom found in written law. It
declares that the purpose of the chapter "is primanly to safeguard the
interests of illegitimate children and secure for them the nearest possible
approximation to the care, support and educiitit)n that they would be
entitled to receive if born of lawful marriage^ which purpose is hereby
acknowledged and declared to be the duty of the state,"
After we had provided for an agency in which would he centered
the authority, responsibility, and power of initiative in protecting children
of illegitimate parents, and after we had placed upon the illegitimate
father and mother the same responsibility for the care nf their child as if
he had been born in lawful wedlock, we realized that something more
was still needed. There is an old recipe for rabbit stew which begins
thus; "First, catch your rabbit." What were we going to do to enable
us to apprehend the alleged father who absconds to another state? We
could find no suggestions in the laws of other states, so we evolved a
method of our own, which we hope will stand the tests of the courts. We
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CHILDREN OF UNMARRIED AND ILLEGITIMATE PARENTS — DAVIS 99
provided that when issue is conceived of fornication, which is punishable
as a minor offense, and the father absconds from the state with intent to
evade proceedings to establish his paternity, he shall be guilty of a felony.
This makes extradition possible.
Some of you are doubtless saying, "what becomes of the child whose
mother goes to one of those private lying-in places that specialize in dis-
posing of children undesired by their parents?" How is the state to
know of his existence? Here again, everything is linked up through the
Board of Control, which is required to license, supervise and inspect all
such places.
The officer in charge of such a maternity hospital or infant home is
required to keep careful records and to use due diligence in ascertaining
whether a child is legitimate. "If there is reason to believe that he is
illegitimate or will be illegitimate when born, such licensee or officer
shall report to the State Board of Control within such time as the State
Board may prescribe, the presence of such woman or child, together with
such other information as the Board may require." The records are to
be considered private and disclosed only to those having a legal right to
the information. As these cases are reported, the Board is endeavoring to
send a trained, tactful woman to interview the mother for the purpose
of determining the steps necessary for the protection of the child. Offer-
ing to dispose of children or advertising a child for adoption is forbidden.
It was the belief of the Minnesota commission that careful super-
vision of lying-in hospitals with required reporting of every suspected
case of an unmarried mother is essential to any proper handling of this
problem. The commission also believed it essential that parents be
deprived of their long enjoyed privilege of signing away their parental
rights in a child without suitable court action. Prior to January 1st,
1918, it was possible in Minnesota, as it is in most states, to sign away a
child with less formality than a piece of real estate. The new law pro-
vides that "no person other than the parents or relatives may assume the
permanent control or care of a child under fourteen years of age unless
authorized so to do by an order or decree of court." Supplementing this,
the Board of Control is held responsible for seeing that proper care is
given to every child permanently placed in a foster home by either a
public or a private agency.
Another loophole through which many an unfortunate child has
slipped away, for better or worse, with never a thought respecting his
future on the part of the state, theoretically guarding his interests, is
found in the usual proceedings for adoption. This opening was effect-
ually closed by providing that "upon the filing of a petition for the adop-
tion of a minor child, the court shall notify the State Board of Control.
It shall then be the duty of the Board to verify the allegations of the
petition ; to investigate the conditions and antecedents of the child for
the purpose of ascertaining whether is is a proper subject for adoption;
and to make appropriate inquiry to determine whether the proposed
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100 CHILDREN
foster home is a suitable home for the child." The board is required to
submit to the court a full report in writing with its recommendation as
to the granting of the petition. Furthermore, no petition can be granted
until the child has lived for six months in the proposed home, except
"upon good cause shown" satisfactory to the court.
Another angle of the problem is met in the Minnesota law by a
provision that the name of the putative father shall not be entered with-
out his consent upon the birth certificate by the attending physician or
midwife. When he is adjudged the father, the clerk of court is to notify
the State Registrar of Vital Statistics, who enters the record. To avoid
the possibility of inquisitive people learning from the bureau the name
of an illegitimate father or mother, registrars are required to transcribe
in a book which is known as "the public record of births** certain identi-
fying intems relating to all children, including the name of the mother,
but with the name of the father omitted. This applies alike to all
children whether horn in or out of lawful wedlock. All transcripts for
use in connection with school attendance and employment certificates arc
to be taken from this record. No registrar is now permitted to "disclose
the fact that any record of birth or death shows that any child was either
legitimate or illegitimate/* except when so ordered by a court of record.
It is necessary to refer to another law which is destined to play an
important part in the care of these children in Minnesota. Ft is the one
which authorizes the Board of Control to call an annual conference with
officials responsible for the enforcement of laws relating to children for
the purpose of promoting economy, uniformity, and efficiency in their
enforcement, and providing for the payment of the expenses of probate
judges attending. These judges serve as juvenile court judges in all but
six of our eighty-six counties.
To complete the picture of what the new laws do for these children
in Minnesota, we must also refer to the provision for County Child
Welfare Boards* Already twenty -six counties have organized these
boards, which are charged with the performance of "such duties as may
be required of them by the Board of Control in furtherance of the
purposes of the act," Through these county boards, it is expected that the
central bureau at the capitol will be able to reach out into the further-
most corner of the state and render assistance quickly to any needy child.
Summary and Comparison
The principal difference benveen the Minnesota taw and the pro-
vision submitted to the Missouri legislature, which unfortunately did
not become law, is that the Missouri commission provided for less
centralization of authority and responsibility in a single agency, while
placing more responsibility and initiative in the hands of county boards,
Nether was provision made in Missouri for an official investigation by
the state precedent to the granting of adoption papers* Of course, there
were many differences in detail.
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CHILDREN OF UNMARRIED AND ILLEGITIMATE PARENTS — DAVIS 101
In the fundamental principles, there is a remarkable similarity be-
tween the provisions of the Castberg Law passed in Norway and those
of our own Minnesota law and the proposed Missouri code. An impor-
tant difference, however, is that in Norway the child is given an equal
right to the name of the father and mother. No similar action has been
talten in tins country. In Minnesota we deliberately omitted such a
provision, believing that it was of doubtful advantage to either mother
or child, while possessing decided disadvantages for both.
In addition to placing the responsibility for care and maintenance
upon both parents the Norwegian law adds that such maintenance shall
be in accordance with the economic condition of the one most favorably
situated. It also gives the child the same right of inheritance as if
legitimate. I f more than one man is involved, they may all be held liable
for maintenance, the amount being apportioned among them.
An interesting provision makes it possible to make a special assess-
ment on the father for confirmation expenses. The provisions to compel
payments are very rigid. Wages may be garnisheed, banks required to
give information as to the means of the father, and tax authorities as
to his taxable properties whenever the man has been adjudged the father
or has ackno%\'ledged his paternity in writing.
Any discussion of recent legislation affecting children of unmarried
parents would be incomplete without reference to the Compensation Act
passed by Congress for men in service. In this act, the national govern-
ment itself has recognized the duty of the illegitimate father to provide
for his offspring by placing the granting of allowances on the same basis
as for children born in lawful wedlock.
The Minnesota laws became effective on the first of last January.
Since then J the Board of Control has established a department of child
welfare and has given encouraging indications of its determination to
develop this phase of the work. It is too much to expect that practices
tiiat have come down through the centuries until they have become fixed
in our customs and laws can be wholly changed in a few months. It is
too early to even predict what the results are going to be, but such indi-
cations as there are give grounds for optimism on the part of those who
arc battling for the welfare of that great army of innocent children long
compelled to suffer bitterly, yet to so large an extent unnecessarily, be-
cause of the mistakes of others.
Yesterday the child born out of lawful wedlock was regarded as
fiUm nulUus — the child of no one. Today a more . reasonable world
makes him the child of his natural mother. May we not hope that we
are at the dawn of a tomorrow where a more just world will regard him
as the child of both parents, entitled so far as possible to the same care,
support, education and training that he would have had if born of lawful
parentage.
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THE ATTITUDE OF MARRIED PARENTS AND SOCIAL
WORKERS TOWARD UNMARRIED PARENTS*
Afrs. Frank D. Watsmt, Hat'erforfl, Pennsylvan'm^ Chairman, Phila-
delphia Conference on Parenthood
In his intToduction to the book by Mr* Kammerer on The Unmar-
ried Mother, Dn Hcaly states that he believes that the question of
misconduct involved in conception outside the bounds of legal marriage
should be ttiken up apart from all other forms of delinquency, inas-
much as it involve?; the initiation of the most important of biological
processes. Whereas most infraction of law coincides with destructive
results, here we have a law-breaker as a constructive agent giving as
concrete evidence of her "misbehavior' nature's highest product, a human
being.
Standards of Constructive Parenthood
This statement is a challenge to an analysis of the factors involved in
parenthood as a constructive force in human society. Is every parent
necessarily "a constructive agent/* or are there certain standards which
must be met in the production of a human being before such production
can be called * 'constructive?"
The following standards are offered tentatively as a basis for a
discussion ot constructive parenthood :
1. Every child to be born should be consciously desired and
purposively conceived in love by hoth parents. In other words, parent-
hood should be voluntary j deliberate and based on mutual love.
2. Every child born should have a sound heredity and be free
from congenital disease and defect,
3. Before any child is conceived, its potential parents should bv
certain that they will have the economic necessities of life, i, c*, at
least enough to build up health and maintain physical efficiency in
their child.
4. Adequate parenthood must in addition depend on the in-
tellij^ence of both parents and the willingness of both to exercise re-
sponsibility without cessation during the period of dependence of their
ofFiSpring on the following points:
a. Physical development, mdu4tnf; a rationiJ dicip attention io tb^ laws
at hyj^cne, care m ikkncsa and in heaUh.
b. Mental dcvdopmetit, including hotne trainia^, trainmif for Lttdui trial
eSlcienciirr and training for cultural enjo^i^nient.
c MardI and Bpiritti^il development, indudinur daily traiamg in nghi habit
fortnation and character, fducsitidn for an understanding of bcx and parenthoodi,
training for cittzenethip and soeial service^ education in th^ rdigious and spiritual
life.
5. Adequate parenthood also includes on the part of both parents
an understanding of the value of memhership in a social group and oi
* Paper prepared in connceLion with ^tndies leading to the degree of Doctor of Fhil-
Colfeg«.
Dsopby, niider the Carol a Woerdshoeltei- Department of Sodal He^eArt^H, Eryn Mnwr
"ollei
102
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ATTITUDE TOWARD UNMARRIED PARENTS — WATSON
103
the great desirability of the conscious acceptance by both parents of the
decisions and customs of their social group as expressed by law.
Such a set of standards is necessarily tentative. Is it not desirable^
however, that something of the kind should be preparedj carefully
thought out and tested by experience, with a rating assigned to each
significant point? To illustrate, if adequate parenthood, acceptable
to society, should be counted as entitled to a rank of 100 points, g;ivcn
points of varying amounts could be assigned to each of the subdivisions
under this. For the sake of di^^cussion, the following chart has been
prepared with arbitrary rating allotted as follows:
I
II
III
IV
Standards in Parenthood
(Adequate parenthood = 100 points)
Parenthood based on mutual and abiding love,
consciously desired and planned for by both
parents
Parenthood based on sound heredity and con-
genial health
Parenthood based on sufficiency of economic
necessities
Parenthood based on intelligence and respon-
sibility for:
1. physical development 10
2. mental development ...-.,.,.. 10
3. moral and spiritual development. , 10
Parenthood based on legality
Total
Points
10
2C
20
30
20
100
Such a set of standards would have a direct bearing on the point
of view already quoted from Dr. Healy. Would a parent who failed
to come up to any of these standards, or even to a majority of them,
be called a "constructive agent*'? Surely the giving of life may be a
destructive act if a pathological human being results. A human being
may be nature*s highest product, but it certainly is not so if it lives
without health, without peace, without joy or without making any
contribution to social walfare*
The application of this set of standards to the problem of the un-
married mother now becomes clear. In the past our emphasis has been
largely upon the fact that the unmarried mother has failed to come up to
our fifth standard — that of legality*
Because of her failure on this one point, because she and her child
stand out clearly as law-breakers, society has placed a stigma upon he/
and upon the child. The illegitimate father who has also failed to come
up to this same standard has often escaped. Other parents who have
failed to come up to other standards, which may be of equal or higher
rating fail to incur the same severe stigma. It is true without doubt
that the illegitimate parents often fail to measure up to other standards
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104 CHILDREN
beside the one of legal ity^ but it is not for such failure that they are
punished or that they are branded with stigma.
As the words punish me ni and stigma are used so frequently m this
discossion, it seems \vi%e to define them at this point. By punishment is
meant suffering inflicted by society upon an individual for an act com-
mitted against its laws, the measure of the punishment being determined
by the crime, irrespective of its effect on the offender.
By stigma is meant that form of punishment which society inflicts
by expressing its scorn or condemnation through complete or partial
ostracism.
The Social Aiiitude
As leaders of thought, married parents with normal experience and
social workers, is the present attitude ot society that which wt wish to
have prevail ? Is this attitude something inherited from the past, and
out^vorn by changing conditions, or is it clearly thought out and con-
sciously accepted in order that we may reach a definite goal ? If so, what
is the goal which we aim to reach, and are we succeeding in reaching it?
In an article entitled, When- Mating and Parenthood are Theo-
retically Distinguished, Elsie Clews Parsons voices an objection to our
present attitude toward unmarried parents. She outlines a plan \vhereby
parents should before their marriage make a definite contract with the
state, "a parenthood contract/' agreeing to give proper care to their
children* She then advocates that parents who fail to come up to certain
standards ('^parents of improper age or otherwise defective," parents
shifting their responsibility as to the care and bringing up of their chil-
dren) shall all be considered illegitimate, Illef^itimacy then would refer
to parents only, not to offspring, and to parents in so far as they shirk their
responsibilities, both to their offspring and to the state.
While we may not feci that as yet these standards of Mrs» Parsons,
or those suggested in this paper, almost identical as they are, should be
made legally binding, few would question but that these standards (or
others to be worked out) are the goal which an ever increasing number
of parents must reach in order that the coming generations may be men
and women of the calibre needed by our country. In the case of illegiti-
mate parents, can our present attitude help such parents to attain this
goal ? Can anyone with a knowledge of human behavior fail to realize
rhat punishment and stigma do not help an illegitimate mother to develop
a sense of responsibility and to become as fine a mother as she still may be
to her child ? Neither entire freedom from responsibility nor punishment
helps the man to become a better father. The writer advocates that
neither punishment nor stigma should be the lot of either the man,
woman or child involved in the illegitimate family.
This IS certainly clear in the case of the child. While he or she
is the rei^ult of an act breaking the law, the child is entirely innocent and
may have, in any given case^ potentialities as great as any other child* *'A
society that docs not properly care for this individual ^ bom or unborn,
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ATTITUDE TOWARD UNMARRIED PARENTS — ^WATSON
105
callously sins against its own moral and physical welfare," says Dr.
Healy, It is out task to see to it that this child has, as far as' is
humanly possible^ every opportunity that we try to obtain for every
child born in legal marriage. The first step in thus equalizing oppor-
tunity is to create such a public opinion that the child shall no longer be
punished for acts committed by its parents. Concretely, we should drop
the term the illegitimate child as we have dropped the terms the worthy
and univorihy poor, or as the term bastard has been dropped from the
Minnesota law. We should think of this child as a dependent child,
needing our careful study and thought to give him understanding, love
and opportunities for same, normal home life or its approximation.
If the above described, standards of parenthood can be reached
or even approximated, and if both parents wish it, there seems no doubt
but that the marriage of our child's parents is the ideal solution.
// Normal Standards Cannot be Attained
If these standards can not be reached, however, — if such marriage
can not be on a sound basis of love and mutual respect, it seems clear
that the marriage of the parents should never be urged or even encour-
aged. Given this decision, we must try to build up just as much of a
family life as we can, keeping the child with either the mother or father,
according to ^vhich one can more adequately attain our standards. For
the first six to ten months it is usually vital to keep the child with the
mother, except in the case of a defective mother. In the majority of
cases, judged from our present knowledge, it would seem wise to keep
the child with the mother after that, or at least to allow her to keep
constantly in touch with the child and to have the maximum responsibility
for its care and development.
Here we must emphasize the value of arousing in the mother a
sense of joy in the developing life of the child and the realization that she
may still attain a high standard of parenthood. Those of us who have
the privilege of being parents ourselves know only too well the difficul-
ties that arise in adequate child training and the vital role that joy has
in arousing in us and in our children mutual understanding and love.
What more wonderful sight than to see parent and child absorbed in
spontaneous play together! For the father as well as for the mother,
such a joyous attitude toward the child can do much in building a sound
foundation. But how can such joy be aroused if cither parent constantly
thinks of the child as a burden, the result of a crime and the cause of
continued ostracism? We must minimize the past and emphasize the
possibilities of the future. Granted that the parents can not attain the
first, or the fifth of our standards, other standards of responsibility and
joy still remain open to them and it is our privilege to work with both,
to help them to attain the highest standards of parenthood still within
their reach.
In order to do this safely, instead of punishment, we must have
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106 CHILDREN
madf a very careful diagnosis of the cases of both parents, whenever it
is possible to reach both. We must have a scientific analysis of all the
facts in their lives which have led up to their parenthood. As the aim
of the juvenile court is that no child should be punished, but studied and
understood and helped, so these parents must be studied and understood
and helped, their weak points discovered, their potentialities found and
thefr cases so treated that in accordance with their needs and limitations,
the essentials of normal living will be supplied to them. Above all, In
this group as in every other, we must apply that vital principle of social
case work, individualization of treatment. In applying any general
rules that may be laid down, this principle of individualization must be
kept constantly in mind, for every individual case must be judged on its
own merits.
In an article in the Annals of the American Academy uf Political
and Social Science for May, 1918, certain principles of case work with
the illegitimate family have already been discussed by the present writer.
In this paper as in that article, it must be stressed that for the sake of
the child the mother must be given wider opportunities for normal living
than is usually the case at present. We fail so often in our case work
with this mother because we turn to the easiest thing, domestic service,
and w*e place her there with her baby regardless of whether she is fitted
for this \vork or whether in such a position she can give adequate care to
her child and have opportunities for adequate pay, normal hours of work,
companionship, recreation and future development. Certain studies
which have been made in the past seem to show that more illegitimate
mothers come from domestic service than from any other occupation.
Such a conclusion cannot be accepted until further analysis is made and
especially until it is known exactly what proportion of women are to be
found in domestic service. It is, however, undoubtedly true that domes-
tic service is an occupation in many cases having low standards in all
the points mentioned. Whenever an unmarried mother seems especially
fitted for domestic service, we should see that if possible she is given
further training in domestic science and then placed under standardized
conditions. In fact, whenever possible we should consider vocational
training for the unmarried mother, that she may more adequately fulfill
the responsibilities of parenthood in the future.
Prospective Research; A Tentative Program
The problem of work, other than domestic service, for the un-
married mother does not differ, in the opinion of the writer, from the
problem of work for any mother with a young child or children. This
problem is one needing careful study, and the Philadelphia Conference
on Parenthood, therefore, is gratified to report that at its request, the
Bureau of Social Research of Seybert Institute and the Carol a WoerrU
shoefer Department of Social Research of Bryn Mawr College, arc
to co-operate during the winter of 1918-19, in a study of Mothers in
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ATTITUDE Howard unmarried parents — ^watson 107
Industry, with an especial emphasis on the effect of industrial life of
mothers upon the home.
While waiting for the results of this and other studies, experi-
mentation will have to be carried on in placing children in boarding
homes with their mothers, the children being cared for by the boarding
mothers, while the child's own mother may work at the occupation
pursued before the birth of her child. Pensions for such mothers supple-
menting support from the fathers of their children, may be tried in
some cases. It is possible that the movement of women into industry, due
TO the war, may make necessary a scientific creche for the care of children,
with far higher standards of child care and child training than those of
our usual day nurseries at present.
Such a program as that outlined above, does not mean for one
moment that we lose sight of the values that are at stake, or that we
plan to meet them with mauldin sentimentalism. The poison ivy will
remain the poison ivy, no matter how carefully we water it and tend it,
and the moral imbecile will remain the moral imbecile, no matter what
opportunity is given him or her. Such a scientific understanding of the
congenital limitations of human beings is not placing a stigma upon
them however, but is understanding the facts — an essential in any sound
program of treatment. The treatment of the feebleminded illegitimate
mother or father has not been discussed here, however, as they differ
in no vital way from other feebleminded individuals, and the problem
of their treatment can more properly be handled by those studying the
entire problem of feeblemindedness.
Constructive Social Measures
One vital question still remains to be asked before we close our
discussion: Can we, by our attitude, do constructive work which will
cut down the amount of illegitimacy? A trained public opinion has
demanded a higher standard of public health, and it has obtained it. In
the same way a trained public opinion can demand a higher standard
of social morality, and it will secure it. Just as we have learned that
in treating a case of typhoid fever, it is part of our work to go back of
the individual patient who is sick, and find the impure water supply, or
the infected milk supply that is causing typhoid fever in that community,
so we must go back of individual cases of immorality and find the
social causes at work in the community producing these social evils.
Such work has been done since the outbreak of the war around the
cantonments. There are social causes at work within the control of
the community which can greatly reduce immorality and illegitimacy.
These are known so wtII to this group that I shall only mention certain
of them, dwelling for a moment on one or two whose value seems to
the writers underemphasized by even this trained group. The proper
diajinoftis and care of the feebleminded is a problem that has been con-
sidered by this Conference for years. Proper housing facilities are
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lOS CHILDREN
known to have a direct connection with social morah'ty. An adequate
wage for both men and women offers opportunities for normal life,
which is vital in the prevention of illegitimacy. Vocational education
and vocational guidance will in the future be given to every boy and
girl, so that he or she will find that place in industry for which they
are best fitted and which offers them constantly widening opportunities.
It is in the field of sex and parenthood, that the writer feels this
group can especially exert so much influence. First must come an
understanding and recognition of the significance of parenthood as a
social force. The president of a leading woman's college is said to
nave stated that such a per cent of her students had entered teaching,
that so many had entered professional life, and so many had done
nothing of significancei but had merely married. In another woman's
college, when a young mother asked for a course in psychology, so that
she might be a better mother to her children, she was told by the head
of the department of psychology that he had no interest in anything of
that kind. If this is true for mothers, a large majority of whose time
is devoted to their children, how much more is it true of fathers? Yet,
even so^ we all know of the increase of criminality since the war, m
part due to the absence of the father's training. If the home is the
best place to be found for the training of our children and if the training
of our children is one of the most vital things in building up the character
of our national life, must we not take parenthood more seriously? To
attain such a set of standards as outlined here, or to attain even part of
them is no small task. The daily -training of the child in character and
for social service demands preparation on the part of both father and
mother.
This Division has already spent one session in listening to the
excellent paper on the neglected child, by Mr. Towne. Can anyone
fail to realize how inadequately fitted were the parents of such children
(even though legally married) to enter upon the task of parenthood »
when the state granted them a marriage license? Can we not begin
before this step is taken to educate both our boys and our girls for
intelligent, responsible parenthood? Formerly it was believed that boys
only should be trained for professional life and girls only should be
prepared by their mothers in their homes for parenthood. Adequate
education for both sexes today must recognize that neither the industrial
life, nor parenthood is the exclusive prerogative of either sex, but that
both girls and boys need to be educated thoroughly and intelligently for
self-support and for the work of preparing the next generation-
In the opinion of the writer, a changed attitude on the part of
thoughtful people on these points would have a vital influence, not
only in preventing the social phenomenon of illegitimacy, but in greatly
raising the standard of all parenthood.
}
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DrAGNOSIS OF SCHOOL CHILDREN — WOOLLEY 109
INFORMAL DISCUSSION
To this discussion Mrs. Kate Waller Barrett, Alexandria, Va^ A.
Medorah Donahue, Baltimore; Rev. A. M. O'Neill, Rochester, and C. C.
Carstens of Boston also contributed.
MENTAL AND PHYSICAL DIAGNOSIS OF SCHOOL
CHILDREN*
Mrs. Helen T. WooUey, Ph.D., Director, Vocation Bureau, Public
Schools, Cincinnati
The ideal demand to be made upon school systems, and doubtless
the real demand of the future, is that every school system be supplied
with sufficient service of the physician and the psychologist to give every
child the benefit of a thorough mental and physical examination. No
school system at present comes up to this demand in either field, mental
or physical.
Physical or medical examinations of school children are far better
provided for than mental examinations. Every city school system, and
most rural systems, have 5ome provisions for the services of a physician.
With the present ideals and attainable equipment it is fair to demand
that ever}- school have a tnedical service which will at least detect and
treat, if the parents so desire, gross defects such as tonsils, adenoids,
deafness, poor vision, enlarged glands, weak lungs, heart lesions, orthope-
dic defects of the more evident type, malnutrition and skin diseases. The
medical service ought also to be able to diagnose all common infectious
diseases^ and see that the proper protective measures are adopted. A
service that falls behind this standard is unsatisfactory even in the light
of present possibilities.
At present only a few of our larger school systems are supplied
with well trained psychologists for mental diagnosis. None of the psy-
chological laboratories are sufficiently manned to grant all the requests
for e^saminations which come from the schools. None of them even
approach the possibility of making a thorough mental examination of
every child. A fair demand at present is that every school be supplied
with skilled psychological service, sufficient in amount to allow of the
examination of every child who shows marked variations from the normal
in any direction. By skilled psychological service is meant a department
who<;e head is a thoroughly trained experimental psychologist and in
which the assistants are university graduates with some special training
\n experimental psychology. A training in Binet tests alone is entirely
inadequate.
At present mental tests are more useful in indicating the degree of
•A gummary of the report af a sub-committee of the Division on Children, consisting
of the following metnbrrs: Helen T. Woolley, Augusta Bronner, Grace Fcrnald, Kate
Gordon, Major M, E. HagK?rty. Mrs. Vinnie C. Hicks, Solomon Lowenstein, D. P. Mc-
Millan* E. A. Peterson. Rudolph Pintner, Edward K. Strong. Jr., Jessie Taft, Elsa
Ueland, J. E. Wallace Wallin, C. V. Williams.
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no CHILDREN
mental ability, than in distinguishing types of ability. The most im-
portant groups to be distinguished on this basis, and those for which
every school system ought to have special provision, are the following:
(a) The mental defectives.
(b) The permanently retarded.
(c) The temporarily retarded.
(d) The very superior.
(a) Most public school systems refuse to admit children whose de-
fects are so extreme that they are practically unteachable — those whose
limit of probable development is six years or less. Such children need
only custodial care. It is the belief of the present committee that the
upper limit for mental defect should be fixed, pending further evidence,
at a ten year level. In terms of school grades, this means that third,
or J in some instances, fourth grade academic work marks the limits of
accomplishment of the defective.
(b) The group of permanently retarded children is much larger
than that of the defectives, and is a more vexing educational problem.
They are children who can doubtless be made self-supporting in simple
occupations, and who can often be taught to conduct themselves properly.
They attain a mental age from ten to twelve years or somevvliat more
and complete fifth, sixth and occasionally seventh or eighth grade. This
group furnishes many of the problems of behavior in our schools,
(c) The temporarily retarded children are those who have lost
ground academically because of illness, undue absence from school or
poor advantages. To distinguish temporary from permanent retardation
is by no means easy. In some cases the diagnosis cannot be made ivithout
a period of trial in a special class. Temporarily retarded children can
frequently make up part or all what they have lost and be returned to
the regular classes.
(d) Superior children, who constitute a particularly precious asset
of society, have been for the most part given no special advantages in
our schools. Classes recently formed in Urbana, in Louisville, and in
Cincinnati, have shown that children diagnosed as very superior can
progress twice as fast in elementary school work as the present rate,
without strain. They not only move at twice the rate but do the work
better than the average child. Segregating them gives them the advan-
tages of the stimulus of minds of equal capacity, of being kept normally
busy, of forming good habits of work, and of securing more education
in the years of their school life than would otherwise be possible.
So far this report has discussed the differential diagnosis and treat-
ment of children based upon differences in degree of ability. The prob-
lem of special kinds of abilities and special disabilities is more obscure*
Frequently what appears like a disability in reading, in spelling or in
arithmetic turns out to be merely had mental habits. Special abilities in
oratory^ in music, in literary expression are apt to be part of a high level
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PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS IN THE ARMY — HAGCERTY 111
of general ability. The entire topic needs much more investigation be-
fore anytlimg very definite can be said.
The evident diwibilfties of blindness and defective vision, deafness
and defective hearing, and speech defect are already provided for in
special classes of our larj^er school systems, and should, of course, have
treatnient in ever>^ community. In many states, appropriations from
state funds supplement local resources in providing suitable instruction
for the blind and deaf-
The connection between mental status and problems of behavior in
the schools is one which needs much further investigation. The psycholo-
gist of the future can doubtless be much more useful in helping to solve
problems of behavior, than he has been in the past- A child who is
placed in a class in which the work is much too hard for him may react
against the unreasonable demands by being unruly, and by playing
truant. A child whose work is much too easy for him may get into
mischief in his spare time- Though these sources of misbehavior are
certainly frequent, genuine mental conflicts are probably a more fre-
quent source of si^rious misbehavior, and are much more difiicult to deal
%vi!h. In this direction some of the most important contributions of
the future may be looked for.
In closing, the committee would like to call attention to the im-
portance to social agencies of having a well conducted psicholo^ical
clinic in the public schools. Within a few years, such a clinic collects
information about the problem families of the communit>^ which is of
the greatest service to the social agencies- Since the criminals and
chronic incompetents of the future are to be found at present among
the school children who are failures and problems of behavior^ pre-
ventive work should have its source in such a clinic. •
RELATION OF PSYCHOLOGICAL EXAMINATIONS IN
THE ARMY TO EXAMINATIONS OF SCHOOL
CHILDREN
Mtijor M. £, Hag^erty, Sanitary Corps, IVashinf^irm
Major Haggerty stated that soon after the declaration of war, a
group of psychologists spent two or three wrecks at Vine land, N* X, and
there formulated a group of tests. These were not new in principle and
were nothing more than adaptation and standardization of tests already
used in clinics-
Several thousand men were examined and then the psychologists
met again and revised tests- About 4,000 army and navy men in all
were examined by these tests for large groups* No revision was made
after the second trial. The second trial did give classification for men in
army groups. About 66,000 wxre tested in four camps including officers
in training at Fort Snelling,
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112
CHILDREN
The meaning of this for public school work ts: (a) the demonstra-
tion of possibility of testing large numbers in groups, (b) The relation of
the survey tests of this type to the general tests of public schools* Both
tests may be used in public schools under one source of direction, (c)
The possibilities of finding out the extent of special ability and disability
of school children.
7^ he great demand for psychologists in the army has developed a
psychological personnel far beyond what existed a year ago. In fact, it
^\'ouId have taken ten years to accomplish this work in normal times.
We will get out of this standards of training for psychologists- We
must insist on adequate training, and» in general, that no person shall
give psychological t{Mts who has not had fundamental psychological train-
ing in the university and also clinical experience under direction. They
must also have certificates.
Over t^vo hundred psychologists arc now being trained in the army
in giving both group and individual tests. Major Haggerty said that
the ability to give a mental test, such as the Binetj no more qualifies
the person giving it ro be a psychological diagnostician or clinical psychol*
ogist, than the reading of the thermometer qualifies one to practice medi-
cine.
The question is, what does it mean to bring the tests into public
schools? First, the classified basis of actual measurement^ and second,
perhaps the most important service will be, the release of superior chil-
dren from school routine.
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f
II.
DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
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DIVISION COMMITTEE— 1917-1918
Chairman
Mrs. Jessie D. Hodder,
Superititendent, Women's Reformatory, Framing ham, Mass.
Vice Chairmajj
Charles L. Chute.
Secretary, State Probation Commisstion, Albanjj N. Y,
Secretary
F, Leslie Hay ford,
Secretary, Trustees, Mass. Trainiiig Schools, Boston.
CoU Cvfviis B. Adams , . . . .Boston F. Emory Lyon. .,..»*.,,, -CliicagD
Edith N. BiirltiRh CambridKC* Ma^a Harry U McCUin St. Louis
Kmo5 W. Bulkr. . , , Indian^ijolia S. D. Murphy* Birmingham
Rev. PvtQT Criirtiloy. ... . . , Jolicl, 111. David C. Peyton. M. D. . Jefferson ville, Ind*
Bernard Glucck. M. D Ossiinnf^, N, Y. Mrs. Jane Deeter Rippin ,. .Philaddiihia
Hon. Charles W. Hoffman. .... Xincinnali John J. Sonstcby .Chicago
VVilliam J, Homer. . .Great Meadow, N. Y. Ucv. John L. Sntton .,.New Orleans
Gtorge W. Kirclnrey. ...,.,.,. .New York
114
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TRANSACTIONS
At the meeting of the National Conference at Kansas City, May
15-22, 1918, one hundred and seventy-one delegates registered as mem-
bers of this Division. The Division Committee, as appointed at the
1917 Conference at Pittsburgh, is shown on the opposite page. Eight
meetings for discussion were held, as follows:
PAGES
May 16, 11:00 a. m., "Juvenile and Domestic Relations
Courts" 124
May 17, 9:15 a. m., "Court Methods of Dealing with Girls
and Women Charged with Sex Offenses" 132
May 17, 11 :00 a. m., "The Next Step in Treatment of Girl
and Women Offenders" (general session) 117
May 18, 9:15 a. m., 'Trobation and Parole" 140
May 18, 1 1 :00 a. m., "Delinquency and the Schools" 155
May 18, 8:15 p.m., "The War and Prisons" (general ses-
sion) 121
May 20, 9:15 a. m., "A Square Deal in the Courts" 167
May 22, 11:00 a. m., "Prohibition and Delinquency" 172
The meeting on May 16th and the first session on May 18th were
joint meetings with the National Probation Association. The second
session on ]May 18th was a joint meeting with Division VIII, on Mental
Hygiene.
On May 16th, at 12:45 p. m., the Division met at luncheon. At
1 :45 a business session was held, the chairman being Mrs. Jessie D.
Hod tier of Framingham, Mass., and the secretary, F. Leslie Hayford of
Boston.
It was voted that the chairman appoint a Committee on Nomina-
tions, to consist of five persons, including the chairman, and that this
committee report on Saturday morning, May 18th, nominations for
members of the Division Committee.
ITie chairman appointed the following Committee on Nominations:
Mrs. Jessie D. Hodder, Framingham, Mass.; Charles Tuxbury, Wind-
sor, Vt.; Thomas C. O'Brien, Boston, Mass.; Amos W. Butler, Indian-
apolis. Ind.; Charles W. Wilson, Vergennes, Vt.
A second business meeting of the Division was held" on Saturday,
May 1 8th, at 12:00 m., Mrs. Hodder presiding and Mr. Hayford act-
ing as secretary.
115
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The Committee on Nominations reported that it recommended that
the following persons be nominated for members of the Division Com-
mittee for the terms stated (see Part B, 3ec< 3, appendix).
It was voted that the recommendation of the Committee on Nom-
inations be adopted and that the above named persons be nominated for
members of the Division Committee to ^tvg for the terms stated and
that Col. Cyrus B. Adams of St, Charles, HL, be nominated for chair-
man of the Division Committee for the ensuing year,
(Signed) JESSIE D. HODDER, Chairman.
F. LESLIE HAYFORD, Secretary.
116
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THE NEXT STEP IN THE CORRECTIONAL TREAT-
MENT OF GIRL AND WOMEN OFFENDERS
Af rs. Jessie D. Hodder, Superintendent, Reformatory for Women, Fram-
ingham, Massachusetts
Reformatories for women are not now meeting the needs of the
women sentenced to them by the courts. We reach this conclusion from
a conviction that with so poor a tool no worth-while result caa be
achieved.
A reformatory which receives women from all of the courts of a
given state has within its walls a group of people whose only common
denominator is crime. How diversified such a group may be is shown
Chdrt I, Attalysis of Population of Massachusetts Reformatory for Women
10
noRo-
PlfS
PITBS
EPZLEPTX09
HTSfERICAL
TOUL
TOZAL
PIBDn
SOSCILI
A
0
1
•
4
US
m^
33
u
4
U
T4
14,0
sodm^UL
40
49
U
u
140
29.0
rou.
H
8S
u
IB
108
20.4
flin
24
10
IS
IS
60
18,4
lk}0(D
44
14
u
IS
18
106
£1*0
KilL SiaiSELl
I«l
ISl
6t
01
44
SCO
EDTJiPIBCSfT
W.4jt
u.zt
U.4fji
u.si
U9f
100.^
in Chart I^ which is an analysis of the population of the Reformatory for
Women of Massachusetts in 1915.
To turn such a group as this into a family whose chief purpose is
re-formation of moral standards is to attempt the impossible. They have
no common sympathies, no mental loyalties, no common ideals.
Let us turn the focus another way for a moment. Let us forget that
we are talking about reformatories or prisoners. Just suppose, for the
sake of argument, that we are discussing a new state project in which it
is proposed to build an institution to house epileptic, feeble-minded, psy-
chopathic, hysterical, neurasthenic, and normal women, who range in
mentality from imbecile to high school grade, with 12 per cent illiterates,
117
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118 DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
foreign and native. One immediately sees how u neon st rue ti%^e sueh a
plan IS. If such a group wcxe \o be brought together because of appen-
dicitis, or heart trouble even, one would pity the administration.
This is, however, the setting of our reformatories, because this is
the population going through our courts, because no state has developed
the policy of caring for its criminal women on the basis of an analysis of
its criminal population. Reformatories, therefore, cannot meet the needs
of the criminal women because they are not equipped to handle so complex
a share of the state's burdens as falls to their lot.
A state reformatory or state training school should not transfer sane
patients nor discharge them into the community as "unfit subjects,^' short
of the maximum sentence, unless cured ; it should make of itself the state
laboratory on delinquency and by its studies should shape the state policy
for the treatment of all of the state's delinquent women. There should
be no tag ends to relieve administrative strain; the tool, by which T mean
the reformatory, should be made strong and flexible enough to do the job
so that no phase of the woman criminal problem should be left untouched.
We ask, at last, to be conscious of it all. By conscious, we mean a whole-
hearted consciousness of the needs of each prisoner and the possibility of
fulfilling those needs, be they re-education with a view to reinstatement
in the community, or hospital treatment to correct nervous defect, or
permanent custodial care. The question may well be asked, Why mix
hospital care with reformatory treatment? — that is, hospital care of the
kind required for the treatment of psychopathic and neurasthenic women,
with reformatory treatment, which used to mean fitting people for com-
munity life. The answer is — that the next step in the treatment of
criminal women involves such action.
The states which build reformatories now are either going shortly
to begin to transfer their unmanageable types to the state prison (that is,
to the female annex of the men's prison), or what is just as bad, they
will agitate for the building of a women's prison to relieve them of their
unruly inmates. Now, an unmanageable woman prisoner h so because
of nervous or mental defect, or both, and no prison discipline will over-
come that defect. If the Women's Reformatory of Massachusetts, an
institution with forty years* experience, has done nothing else for the
cause of the criminal women, it has demonstrated that no women's prison
is necessary; that no men's prison should have a female annex; that
women prisoners should not be classified according to age or crime. It
was built to duplicate, as nearly as possible, the men's prison. Time and
use have modified its work. It has 60.7 per cent misdemeanants, 37.6
per cent felons, and 1.5 per cent lifers. So far as these crime designations
go, they have no influence on our work. It is the personality of the
woman that counts; it is the type to which she belort,;^s which affects her
harmfulness or helpfulness in the institution group, and which determines
the kind of treatment she must receive. This being true, what is our
next step?
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TRSATMBNT OF GIRL AND WOMEN OFFENDERS — HODDER 119
Women criminals dfvide themselves roughly into three groups:
(1) those who may safely be returned to the community after training;
(2) those who need permanent custodial care; (3) those about whom
prognosis is doubtful because they have formed the disciplinary problem
wherever they have been, and for whom no method of treatment has been
worked ouL
Talcing Chart I as a basis, we have analyzed the 5310 women crim-
inals of Massachusetts who were on probation or sentenced to institu-
tions in 1915, the year Chart I was made. I realise that such an analysis
can only be tentative, but it is good material to argue from,
Chart 11, ChsiiJUation of siio Women Criminals of Afassoi^hHsefts on Pro-
bation or Sentenced to Insiitutiatus in igis
^ — To — \ \ i i 1 1
I WBRVOUS ; NEITRO- i PSYCHO- ! SPILKPTIC * mfSTER- 1 TOTAL TOTAL
I DKPSCT [ PATHS j PATHS j 1 ICAL \ PER CBKT
A
KOHOB
BUBKOBMAL
l|4S&
DOIX
tf^ft
fi
OCOD
Ijf
35d
I 170
.2^ i I ;
t^ — * I —
UZ%
160
64 I 7©6
i 45
I I
6>Q% ] 5.2% j *B% I agg \ U2^\ 14.8^
I 520
) 2M
©!«
9.B%
362
7ffil(
235
4*8^
467
a.e^
MO
> £65
i&a
06 1540
I B5 [1065
lOS
£&&
t I *
4.8^
117 f 136
2,^
136 ,1115
2.Sf I £>6<l
21?£
TOTAL
"1932
;i301
960 I 859
468 I 5310
36.4^1 2t,2i \ 12^4?e | Id. 2^ ^.6^
! J I L ^_
100^
LiKUUF l—NuiiMAL, llOi, or aO.^Vc. GROUP 11— i'tEBLEMINUEU, SSO, or Ifi-Jfe.
CROUP in— 8S56, or SB.^%.
Given this as the woman criminal problem, it is surely evident that
a reformatory, as we now think of that institution, cannot meet the needs
of these women. Is it evident that a reformatory is not even necessary?
Has the time come to give up reformatories ? Are they going out?
In 1915 probation in Massachusetts carried 2783 women. This
chart says there were only 1104 mentally and nervously normal women
in all that year. Probation then was hampered with a large number of
women who should never be dealt with on probation. Could probation
handle all normal women who commit crimes ? Numerically, yes. How
about putting a murder^s on probation? It has been done and done
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120 DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
successfully. There should be no Ifmit to the po^ibilities of probation
of normal women, because probation has all of the commtmity resources
at its disposal, also because of its low per capita cost the state could well
afford to keep the number of probationers to each probation officer low.
Probation officers would know better than I whether their technique
would meet the needs of a criminal population of normal women of this
si;&e— theoretically it should he able to do so.
The second group are those who should have permanent custodial
care. There are, in this analysis, 850 feeble-minded women who would
need such care. These women should form a farm colony group in
buildings of the simplest construction. Perhaps when their restlessness
for city life wore off, they might be given under good leadership the prob-
lem of reducing the state*s importation of poultry and eggs. They might ?
Well, let us be very optimistic about these poor souls who must never
again be called criminals, but who are bearers of the "sins of the fathers."
Let us say that with a combined truck garden, poultry farm, and light
statc*use industries for winter, they might be made self-supporting,
TTie third group are those about whom w^e know the least. They
have formed the major discfplinary problem wherever they have been
and were long supposed to he just bad. In some institutions they arc
chained to the floor^ the administration being utterly at sea how to man-
age them. At an earlier stage of our social history one can imagine them
being burned as witches. They certainly act possessed- If they were
to commit murder, a plea of insanity might be filed, but when they are
torturing themselves or the administration or fellow prisoners^ alienists
will not call them insane, and insane hospitals discharge them. Have
they a socially available norm of conduct? Can they be trained to return
to the community as useful citizens? This is the crux of the next
step in the correctional treatment of criminal women. The question can
never be solved by a reformator>', as we know that institution.
The problem is not one of giving in to the whims of nervous women.
It is not a question of conduct color-hlindness on their part^ but a question
of basic nervous defect as real as the loss of an arm is real to the physical
body or as insanity is real to one's mental self.
A psychopathic or epileptic woman is a nervous cripple; her strug-
gles for social adjustment arc those of a soul pent up in an uncongenial
body. Every struggle she makes plunges her deeper and deeper into
behavior complexes until the last stage is worse than the first.
Do you ask the question, *'Why is this a reformatory problem?"
Because her conduct creates a public order, police^ court problem; i, e.,
a crime problem; and, of course^ the word re-form does not prohibit
medical care. It prohibits nothings no effort that will remake the indi-
vidtiah Those who are in this work have the right to unlimited mate-
rials to aid them. Reformation does not mean ''keep that prisoner safe
from doing harm to me'*; it means ''make that prisoner over, so that he
may join me safely in the community." No tool^ no material, no science,
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DOES WAR INCREASE CRIME — BLACKMAR
121
no skill should be withheld. And so it is that we ask for separate colony
groups for the<;e various types — colonies on the cottage plan, so that
within the colony there may be classification of degrees of defect. Each
colony must be complete in itself and entirely homogeneous, and quite
distant from any of the other colonies on the reformatory grounds.
Treatment will start from the type standpoint. It will no longer
be purely a moral-conduct readjustment problem, but predominantly a
medical- psychiatric t re atment-of -conduct problem.
Tlie next step, then, in the correctional treatment of girl and women
offenders is a new^ kind of reformatory — a reformatory which shall be
organized and administered on the principle that persons committed to it
must be classified into distinctly separated groups, who shall be given the
special care and treatment that these groups require, care and treatment
which shall focus itself not only upon the physical problems involved,
but especially upon the psychiatric problems which are the predominating
factors in their delinquent careers.
DOES WAR INCREASE CRIME?*
f . W. Blackmar, Professor of Sociology, University of Kansas, Lawrence
War does not necessarily increase crime in the civil population, yet
in many instances the facts indicate that it does have such a tendency. In
discussing a question of this kind there are a number of important factors
to be considered, l^he first is in reference to the influence on the popu-
lation of the purpose of war. If war is inspired by high ideals of justice,
liberty, and self-defense, the spiritual tone of the nation may be elevated
rather than depressed. Such a spirit would have a tendency to suppress
crime rather than increase it and on the other hand, if war is inspired by
lust for power, by brutal conquest, oppression and savagery, it will
depress the moral tone of the nation and become a strong factor in
increasing crime.
Again, the criminal tendency varies somewhat in respect to the kind
of discipline In the army and the kind of treatment of the men. Excellent
discipline accompanied by humane treatment and care of the lives of the
soldiers will improve the moral tone of the men in the service and have
a good influence on the people at home. Also considerable depends upon
the purity of national life, especially of the people in high places. If,
during the war, the government should be run by exploiters of humanity
who seek to gain their own selfish ends by political and financial
profiteerings then the influence on the public at large who are making
the sacrifices and paying the bills of the war, is very significant. Those
who lack moral resistance are liable to develop, under such influences,
criminal tendencies. The man who is not well fortified is apt to make
such conditions an excuse for laxness in observing the law, if not an
excuse for actual crime.
•An abstract.
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122 DBLINQUEMTS AND CORRECXrON
Again the drganization of the rank and file of the home people In
patriotic service is of tremendous importance in preventing the develop-
ment of crime. When the people are roused hy a high moral ideal and
everybody works cheerfully and willingly in the support of that ideal i
there is not very much opportunity for them to develop criminal ten-
dencies. It is true that when the nation is devoting its energies to one
great purpose, it might grow lax in watching the thieves and thugs that
already exist and who may take the opportunity to increase their crime.
Yet such tendencies may be offset by the increased discipline of the whole
nation, working out its strenuous life for a common purpose, every^vherc
at work, and with no occasion for idleness; where the community is
universally organized in the drive for Liberty Bonds, Red Cross, Y. M,
C. A,, and Thrift Stamps. It is a positive cure for crime, \Vhen the
popular idea is abroad that everybody must work or fight, the criminal
has no place in the system <
However, defects of national or municipal government have a far
reaching influence in time of war. If a municipal government is lax in
its administration, criminals are the first to discover this.
There arc those who advocate the theory that the horrors of war
tend to develop a contempt for human life and property, and, therefore,
juvenile crime will increase. I repeat what I said in general at first;
that this Es not necessarily so* If you have your community life organ-
ized as it should be with attention to recreation, playgrounds, boy scouts,
organized efforts for labor, vocational education, home gardening, and
everything that is now being advocated, there will be a tendency to
decrease juvenile crime and make it less than in times of peace.
Reports coming from Germany are that juvenile crime is increasing
rapidly. But there is a specific cause for this that should not be over-
looked. In the first place, the purpose of the war was one of brutal
conquest. Consequently, absolute destruction of homes and the killing
'of innocent people have all been paraded as ideals of that nation. Also,
the method of Germany in discipline of the young is one of arbitrary
authority. The self-determined discipline which arises in a free country
where the child is allowed from hJs earliest existence to take his own
initiative, will stand the test of war times without increasing criminal
tendencies. But when children are ruled by arbitrary force and that
force is withdrawn, they have no self-determined guide to keep them
within the law. We must remember that the man power, the governing
force of the home of German, has been withdrawn from civil life and
gone to the front, and the youth of the land has not been able to exercise
self-restraint which has not been developed in him in the process of the
growth of free manhood.
It must also be remembered that food and clothing and all forms
of material comfort have been lacking in Germany and this has induced
crime against persons and property. When people are absolutely hungry,
sometimes on the verge of starvation, there is no safeguard on the rights
of property. Therefore, one would expect that increase of juvenile crime
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COURTS OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS — HOFFMAN 123
in German]^ would be the essential outcome of the sjrstem under present
conditions. We have not gone far enough into this war to get anything
conclusive regarding the increase of juvenile crime, but in the towns and
communities about which I know most, I find a tendency for juvenile
crime to decrease under the home discipline accentuated by the stress of
war and the central ideal of that discipline is the feeling of the boys and
girls that they are associated closely with others in doing something
worth while for the nation, and if we continue to keep watchful care of
the growing boy and girl, and work with them in the various enterprises
in which they arc now engaged, I predict that the war will bring to our
doors such a wholesome discipline that its whole tendency will be to
lessen crime in the United States.
Statistics do not show that adult crime is increasing since the begin-
ning of the war. Indeed where there existed before the war, an effective
and responsible government and a wholesome community life, crime has
actually been decreasing since the war. Jails have fewer inmates, many
of them being closed. Moreover the watchful care brought about on
account of the army camps has had a tendency to suppress crime and
vice. The last legislature (in Kansas) passed a law creating a farm
home or colony for women prisoners who have been accustomed to in-
habit the county jails. Heretofore every effort to arrest such persons, to
fine them, and then let them go back to the old practices has only wit-
nessed an increase of eviL While the state has not yet built this home
for this class of women prisoners, provision has been made at the peni-
tentiary at Lansing under the wise supervision of Warden Codding. At
tast report 120 had been assembled there, where away from their old
haunts they receive proper medical care and such training for a useful
life as they are able to take. Other states have gone beyond the experi-
mental stage in the colonization of women criminals with good results of
lessening crime. T doubt not that the war will teach us many things
concerning the apprehension and discipline of criminals. It will doubt-
less quicken the discipline by labor. It will reinforce the idea of the
utilization of every available character left in the individual criminal.
Regarding the inmates of the Kansas State Penitentiary, Warden
J. K. Codding writes me under date of April 1st:
Tbe war bai not httn going long enough to really give as sufficient facts
from which to form a conclusion, but there are now some things evident. We
are not receiving at the penitentiary any more the adventurous, daredevil type
of crlminaL
The fellow who held up banks and robbed people for the adventure of it, as
we^ ai for tht money, is not coming. He having all the adventures he wants,
has g^nc Iq war, Ws notice that we have more of the weakling, the fellow
wUo cannot be called to fill the labor demand, the fellow who is crippled, in
other words, the stgtc U unloading onto us its defective and delinquent who
cannot niecl the call now on.
The vagrant who is able-bodied has, to a great extent, been absorbed by the
m%T, He hai either been drafted or the wages have been so good that he has
gone to wofkj but we notice, of course, a tendency to send us the degenerates,
ddinquents and failures.
The physical J mental and moral standard of our prisoners received this year
are not equal to tbose we received last.
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124 GENERAL EXERCISES
I have no evidences of the conditions in other prisons in the United
States, although I am moral ly certain that the diagnosis of one would be
correct of a! I except in case of prison population contributed from large
cities where the momentum of crime may have been increased* A letter
from Thomas W. Morgan of the Federal Prison at Leavenworth seems
to indicate that war has made Uttle change upon the prison population*
COURTS OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS
Report of a Committee of the National Probation Association, Charles
fV~ Hoffman, Judge of the Court of Domes tic Relations of
C'tnclnnaii, Chairman
At the meeting of the National Probation Association held in Pitts-
burgh last yean ^ resolution was passed incorporating in outline the
provisions essential for the organizing of family courts. This resolution,
and the statement preceding it, discussing the necessity of these courts for
the purpose of dealing with the family as a unit^ was not published until
quite recently* The American Journal of Criminal Law and CrimiuQlogy
printed it in a late number, and the proceedings of 1917 of this Associa-
tion containing the resolution have been issued within the last month.
Idea Being Adopted Rapidly
However, notwithstanding the lack of extensive publicity, such as
we feel the resolution merits, the propositions contained therein have been
discussed in several localities with the view of ultimatly securing legis-
lation providing for family courts, approaching in their constitution
some, at least, of the recommendations of this association. Judge Edward
J, Dooley of the Court of Domestic Relations, of Brooklyn, N. Y.,
during the year last past^ has done much toward familiarizing the public
with the idea involved in organizing these courts and has been an ardent
supporter of measures in New York, tending toward the incorporation
of some of the principles of the resolutions into the courts of domestic
relations of Brooklyn. An cntliusiastic and earnest coterie of social
workers in Connecticut are striving toward the formulation of some
system of courts of domestic relations and the provisions of the resolution
were submitted to them last month by the chairman of your committee.
The greatest progress has been made in Ohio, Courts of domestic
relations, or as they might be termed, family court s, are now organized in
Cincinnati, Dayton, Akron and Youngstown. The court at Toledo was
held unconstitutional, but it h hoped that the constitutional defects in the
legislation creating the court will soon be removed. These courts have
jurisdiction jn desertion cases anti exclusive jurisdiction in divorce
and alimony cases, all matters coming under the Children's
Code or Juvenile Court Act, which includes cases of adults
contributing to the deliquencyi or dependency of childen, or acting
in a way tending to encourage, or contribute to such delinquency, or
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COURTS OF DOMESTIC RELATIONS — HOFFMAN 125
dependency. When the Ohio courts obtain legislation providing for
probation forces and psychopathic laboratories for the domestic relations
division of the court, they will be very near the principles embodied in
the resolution. It will not be difficult probably to obtain for the Ohio
courts, additional jurisdiction in paternity cases and guardianship of the
persons and adoption matters. In fact, there are now certain provisions
in the Ohio statutes which, for the practical purposes of providing for
an illegitimate child, gives the court power to act.
The committee at this time, with your permission, desires to
emphasized and re-state some of the facts, based upon social service
necessity, which should impel the organizing of these courts in every
communky*
Relation to Juvenile Courts
The family court is not intended to limit or restrict the jurisdiction
incident to juvenile courts. In fact, the juvenile court will become an
integral part^ or division, of the family court. By reason of the organiza-
tion of family courts, we believe that the administration of the juvenile
court will become more effective and significant and better understood,
not only by tho?ie connected with the juvenile court, but by the public
generally. There is need for publicity on this point.
The juvenile courts were founded and organized not as criminal
courts, but as child saving institutions from which were to be excluded
all semblances of criminal procedure and penal methods. In many
localities the interest of social workers in these courts has decreased,
because they have become no more than police courts where children
are "tried." The idea of saving the child has been lost, and the instances
arc altogether too frequent when the judge in the spirit of semivindic-
tiVeness^ such as the populace sometimes exercises, commits the child to
a semi-penal institution as punishment. And, strange as it may appear,
beating^ lashes and whipping posts are sometimes covertly suggested, if
not actually used.
There is a misapprehension in some jurisdictions as to the function
of these courts. So serious has this become that the co-operation of the
Federal Children's Bureau has been obtaind for making a nation wide
study of the juvenile court. It is not a court in which the child should
be tried for the commission of an offence; in fact, in a number of the
states of the Union it is specifically enjoined upon the judge not to
try a child for the commission of an offence, but to transfer the guardian-
ship of the child from the parents to the court, as the representative of
the state, and save the child for the benefit and welfare of the state.
The misconception of the juvenile court that exists in some localities
deserves investigation.
It is the duty of the juvenile court to save the child by whatever
means it may have at its command. If the child be feebleminded, it
should be sent to an institution for the feebleminded to ascertain the
extent of its feeblemindedness and the chances of its being educated, so
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126 DELINQUENTS AND CQRJlECTrON
that it may be released without danger to the community. If the child
cannot be educated or returned safely to society, it should be permanently
segregated in order that it may not propagate its kind, or commit devastat-
ing offences. If the child comes into court by reason of social influences,
such influences should be removed.
If a child, who is mentally norma!, comes into court with a mind
hent upon the commission of some offence, he should be sent to a special
school, having for its purpose the education of such children* This is
one of the great problems for the schoolmen to solve. There is a strong
probability, amounting almost to certainty^ that a normal child, having
a tendency to commit anti-social offences, can be cured by means of proper
education and treatment. We believe this statement is sustained by the
works of such sociologists as Ward, Giddlngs and SmalL Let the
great departments of psychology and sociology of our colleg*^ and uni-
versities devise a course of instruction and education that will reclaim a
juvenile delinquent^ who is mentally and physically sound. If they can
accomplish this, thousands of boys and girls, who annually pass through
the juvenile cnurtSj will be redeemed.
These brief comments on the juvenile court are made in this report,
because of the obvious connection of the juvenile court with the family
courts. It is clear from the reading of the resolution, that the principle
of the juvenile court is the foundation upon which the family court
must be constructed.
Divorce Cases
It IS becommg apparent to all social workers that anti-social conduct
is involved in divorce cases. The states exercising complete control
over the status of residents within their respective borders, have enacted
codes stipulating therein the character and nature of the anti-social acts
that warrant the dissolution of a marriage contract In fact, the divorce
laws imply that the anti -social conduct of one of the parties in a divorce
case is so great as to warrant the severing of the marital bond, and the
distintegration and disruption of the family. The family is the greatest
institution of modern society and government. It is the foundation stone
upon which our social fabric has been constructed. It is of ^reat im-
portance that this institution be preserved in its purity and intergrity.
While all but a small percentage of men and women are capable
of living in peace and happiness in the marriage relation, yet the number
of divorce cases is so great as to reserve serious investigation as to the
cause of marital dissensions. In some of our cities divorce cases consti*
tute 60 per cent of all the cases filed in the courts of record. These
cases involve a multitude of children, whose welfare is threatened;
some authorities holding that from SO to 75 per cent of the children
of divorced parents become delinquent or dependent. In all time past
no consideration has been given these children by the courts^ so far as
supervision is concerned. An order seldom enforced, and then with
difSculty, is made and thereafter the case and the children forgotten.
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COURTS OF DOMBSTIC RELATIOKS^^TSCUSSIOW 127
There is an urgent, immediate necessity that these children at the time
of the divorce, become in fact, wards of the courts as the representative
of the state, and all means provided for their care. There is as peat a
need for probation officers in the divorce courts as in the juvenile and
criminal court.
The work in the divorce division of the family court will throw
a flood of light over the work in the juvenile division. In divorce cases
will be revealed pathological and social conditions of parents that have
existed from their childhood. We are convinced that in 50 per cent or more
of the cases, the real cause of the trouble is not stated in the complaint or
petition and is not known to the lawyer or the court. It is true that
neglect, cruelty of some character, infidelity and such is mentioned, but
back of these are other matters that caused the neglect, the cruelty, the
infidelity. Here is the greatest available field for scientific research that
is presented to social workers and students of abnormal psychology. If
psychopathic laboratories be established in connection with these courts,
many of the causes of anti-social conduct will be disclosed, which here-
tofore have not been known, except by a few investigators in this field.
We submit that we are justified in these views hy many specialists who
have written on this subject, and particularly by the works of Dr. Wil-
liam Heaiy, the pioneer and greatest of all investigators in the field of
juvenile deliquency*
The committee, in conclusion, desire to submit for your considera-
tion the following recommendations in the organizing of family courts:
First. That an active educational campaign be conducted by the
members of this Association for the establishment of these courts
throughout the country. This can be accomplished through the news-
papers and other publications and by the aid of clubs and societies
interested in social work. We believe that the necessity for these courts
and their purpose should be presented to the public. Local sentiment
must be created before any progress can be made.
Second, While local conditions may demand some changes in
the plans for the family court as provided in the resolution contained in
the report of 1917, we feel that the leading principles contained in the
resolution should be followed and insisted upon by social workers.
Third, That the court may have a fixed, definite and certain
policy governing its proceedings and work, we recommend that the
judges of these courts be appointed or elected for a term sufficient in
length of time to afford the opportunity to develop the social service
program necessary m carrying out the work for which the court is
designed. The rotation of judgt^, such as prevails in some of ottr larger
cities, should be discouraged ^ so far as it applies to family courts, as it
has been abundantly shown in juvenile and domestic relations courts that
this principle has been productive only of chaos and constant conflict in
the work incident to these courts.
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128 DELINQUENTS AKP CORRECTION
We further recommend that judges of these courts be selected be-
cause of their especial knowledge and information concerning social
service work, as well as their attainments in knowledge of the law.
Fourth. That an immediate effort be made in all jurisdictions to
obtain probation forces in the divorce courts, for the purpose of investi-
gating the alleged grounds for divorce, and the home conditions and
environment of the children of the parties in the divorce action, and for
supervising the homes and children after the decree is gran ted »
Respectfully submitted,
Committee:
Charles W. Hoffman, Judge, Court of Domestic Relations,
Cincinnati, Chairman.
Jane Deeter Rippin, U. S. Commission on Training Camp
Activities, Washington.
Edwin J. Dooley, Judge, Court of Domestic Relations,
Brooklyn.
Monroe Goldstein. Secretary, National Desertion Bureau,
New York.
John F. Haraiil, New York.
INFORMAL DISCUSSION
1h Martha Riley ^ juvenile probation officer, Madison, Wisconsin*
asked: Is there any way by which we can raise the qualifications of
the standards of those who apply for marriage licenses. We are bring-
ing in families with from three to seven which the father is not capabit
of supporting financially, and in which the mother has no capacity for
home management. Some associated charities relief or county aid is
given, but as soon as the children become ten or tweh^e years of age
they become delinquent.
2. Judge Ifofftnatt responded as follows: 'We have always re-
frained from advocating any theory in reference to marriage. In the
report of The Family Court made at Pittsburgh in 1D17^ our committee
said that it would not place within that court the power to issue mar-
riage licen.^es, because long before the public was able to understand
that for which we were striving, we would have serious trouble and it
would interfere with the work of the court. It is a fuMftamental rule
of our court that divorce shall be discouraged. The question of hasty
marriages is often raised. It cannot be prohibited by anyone. Nature
intends to perpetuate humankind. Nature will assert itself. The race
will continue and will be recruited from the lower levels. Our Harvard
graduates do not propagate very rapidly. Miss Richmond suggests 5 to
30 days between the period of issuing licenses and the date of marriage.
We believe 5 days to be sufficient. The greater number of marriagea
do succeed; it is a small percentage after all that fail. Divorce in our
county has not increased since 1914: it has slightly decreased. Divorce
occurs only in a small proportion of the marriages, and back of every
one of them is a reason. The marriage relation implies forbearance.
All should forbear, but some cannot do it, and in 75 per cent of such
cases a terrible condition results. Now comes the time for the chal-
lenge; place at the aid of the court a psychopathic laboratory like those
in Boston and Chicago; there will then be revealed so many causes of
anti-social conduct that we will not have to concern ourselves very
long with marriage laws. They will automatically be revised and re-
formed.
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DISCUSSION 119
3. Mrs. lane D^tier Ri^pin, director of the section of women and
girls, Law Enforcement Division, Commission on Training Camp Ac-
tivities, of the War and Navy Departments, said: I am interested in
Judge Hoffman*s discussion ol marriage laws, especially where they
relate to some of the social problems that are arising from mobilisation.
I wonder if we might in this meeting discuss juvenile marriages; and
as a result of that discussion, will this Conference make a constructive
suggestion ? At many of the camp cities we have found children mar^
rying out of grammar school. As a reflex from this we have attempts
at suicide. This number is very small, however, and not at all alarm-
ing. However^ we do want to know now before there is a tremendous
increase, how to control these early marriages and how to treat them.
Should we recommend forced marriage? Ts this wise after the birth
of a child born out of wedlock? Some of the members of this Confer-
ence believe that marriage will settle any situation and that after mar-
riage the child is a woman and a different factor to be dealt with.
Personalty I do not agree with thJs opinion. Mr, Townc suggests that
the juvenile court be responsible for investigation before marriage^ if
the girl is under the juvenile court age. Tn a few instances in which
these child marriages have occurred, it was later learned that the man
was already married.
Mrs, J^ippin said, further, in response to questions that in such
cases where a soldier has really committed the crime, the judge advocates
have been very quick to administer the law. and if the man is found guilty
IS sentenced to Leavenworth or some some other military prison. Tlie
ratio of rape and illegitimacy in cantonment cities is almost negligible
in comparison to the cases handled among civil population in large cities.
This seems to me a great credit to our men who are going from our
country and are being sent over to fight for democracy*
Most of these girls are married by ministers or justices of the peace,
not always with the consent of their parents.
4. Lottie S. Oincy, superintendent. Municipal Bureau of Protection
of Columbia, S, C., said: An order was issued May Ist^ to the effect
that no soldier could marry without consent of his commander, and in
some cases before such consent could be secured the name of the bride
was sent to the provost marshal and inquiries made as to the character
of the bride. This was because we had had a number of marriages of
common prostitutes to soldiers,
5. KathiiHf} Oshntfdcr, director Social Service Department, State
Board of Health. Lansing. Mich,, said: Michigan has a state law where-
by no girl under 18 can be married without the parents' consent. In
my follow-up work for venerea! disease under the State Board of
Health the question of whether or not a girl suffering from venereal
disease shall marry comes up constantly for discussion. We are getting
fprls of all ages and all stages of infection. The question of deciding
whether marriage is advisable or not has never been discussed in any
general conference, so far as T know. 1 am urginji that my women
wait until the man comes back from France, continuing her treatment
during that time. There is no legal way of preventing these marriages,
G. Mrs. Ripf^in took the position that the public health officer
should have the power of decision as to whether or not the girl should
marry.
7, Hfrs. II odder made the inquiry: Does n 4 your taw say that your
patient shall be held until no longer in an infectious stage? We have a
law in Massachusetts w^hich requires all persons in penal and charitable
institutions to be so held; to which Miss Ostrander replied that the
regulation did not apply because it is not a conrt case.
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130 DELINQUENTS AND CORRliCTlON
8. The challenge was made bj^ Mrs, Rihpin: Does this Conference
want to put itself on record for some uniform law or federal action?
We have too long kept silent on the question of venereal disease. In
this particular case I should suppose it would depend upon the phy-
sician's statement as to -whether the girl would improve in health and
)vhether the man in question had a venereal infection. In one of the
camp towns where we have been examining every prostitute arrested,
it was found that 9fl per cent of them had ROjTorrhrxa and 5S per cent
had syphilis. This indicates the type of professional coming to our
camp cities. I do not believe that mobilisation has brought this about
at alf, but rather that mobili?!:ation has made us conscious of conditions
which existed long before war was declared.
0. The Mii^higan situation was explained further by Mhs Osiraitdcr
as follows: Michigan has a health plan operating under the State
Board of Health and is treating free of charge all inen and women who
cannot afford private treatment. We have a quarantine law which
makes it compulsory that every doctor and druggist report all cases of
venereal disease to the Slate Board of Health. The state is prosecuting
doctors who do not report their cases. This law went into eflFect in
November, I&IT, and since then we have had something over 4,000
cases reported. A little less than one-third are women. The social
work of which I am in charge is not dealing with the man proposition
because we feel that the woman is the mare serious factor. Men of
the same age are being cared for through the army and navy. No at-
tempt is made to apprehend women who are able and willing to care for
themselves. Every girl arrested in Michfixait on tnnral or disorderly
charges is turned over to a health officer for examination, on the
basis that she has been exposed to venereal disease. All positive cases
are interned in hospitals where they are detained until no longr in an
infectious stage. We have no state hospital for this work hut arc
using beds donated by the various established hospitals throughout the
state. The state has made arrangements for a temporary place of deten-
tion for feebleminded women. The feebleminded, insane* and epileptic
are being sent directly to the state institutions established for their
care. This takes out of our work the most seiums elementH The pa-
tients come to us voluntarily or they are street women apprehended
through the police or other courts. The Social Service department of
the State Board makes a complete social history of every interned
patient. Detailed family history, mental and physical examination and
follow-up work indicated by the social and mental investigations are
handled by this department. Also this department sees to it that every
patient attends a clinic for after-treatment for so long a time as the
attendant physician req\iires* We have not taken time to educate the
physicians. We just enforced the law. There ivas not sufficient time
to put on an educational campaign, so we had copies of the law sent to
every doctor, with a follow-up letter to be sure he received the frst.
It has been necessary to prosecute in a few instances.
10. H, F. Richardson, superintendent, Dt tent ion Hoine for ChU~
dren, Philadelphia^ questioned: What would you do if the patient re-
fused to go to the clinic? Would you use some means to have the order
carried out? To this an aflirmative answer was given; after %vhich Mr.
Richardson inquired further: Suppose the same patient, not being en-
tirely cured, wishes to take up a marriage relationship, why not use
the same pressure as you would in the first instance?
11. Mtss Ostratidcr replied r 1 have a law hack of ine in tlie first in-
stance, and not in the last. Michigan has passed a law when a patient
is no longer in an infectious condition she is no longer liable to the
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MUNICIPAL DETENTION FOR WOMEN — ^RIPPIN 131
♦1
dictation of the state. She is not cured necessarily. Cure is an in-
definite proposition. She may or may not be cured before death.
13. The Rev. A, J. D. Haupt, director of social service. St.^ Paul
Federation of Churches, said: I wish to caution against jumping at
conclusions in these matters. In the past four years two thousand and
more cases have come under my care in the juvenile court. In quite a
large proportion of these the parents are not responsible, except in
some cases indirectly and unknowingly, for the delinquency of their
children. There are certain men in our city, junk dealers in particular,
who have been guilty of training or encouraging boys to steal. Our
boy delinquents last year were 404; out of this number 160 were cases
of larceny, also 40 per cent, and most of these were gangs of boys who
had been taught junking.
14. Arthur W. Tozvne, superintendent, Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Children, Brooklyn, said: At last year's conference the
question was raised as to whether domestic relation courts and juvenile
courts should remain separate or should be brought together under one
jurisdiction. Judge Hoffman can, I believe, try cases of juvenile delin-
quency, neglect, non-support, bastardy, divorce, and separation. It
seems to me that there are decided advantages in giving one judge
control over all of these closely related matters. I would even bring
still other cases into the same family court, namely, guardianship and
adoption and the granting of marriage licenses to minors. It is alto-
gether too easy for the mothers of illegitimate children to rid them-
selves of their responsibilities by passing their children over to so-called
baby farms or other persons absolutely unfit to be entrusted with their
custody and care. It should not be possible for a mother to give away
her baby by simply signing an affidavit before a notary public or by any
other means short of the decree of a competent court which will first
institute a thorough investigation of the merits of the case. The modern
methods of dealing with juvenile delinquency and non-support cases
should be extended all over the country to the related matters like
divorce, separation, guardianship and adoption. Every unfortunate
child, no matter what the background causes of the misfortune may
be, should have the very best care and protection which the community
can provide.
The marriage of girls fifteen years old or younger, particularly
those known as forced marriages, in which the man's motive has been
to save himself from punishment upon the charge of rape, ordinarily
turn our disastrously. They are very apt to end in exploitation, inade-
quate support, desertion, or other neglect and ill-treatment. At present
there is too much of a division of responsibilities on the part of the
courts and their authorities with respect to these marital problems.
For example, a court trying a man charged with assaulting a young
girl may order a marriage, in spite of the fact that the criminal court
having j\irisdiction over the man defendant has no jurisdiction whatever
over the girl, and no adequate conception of what is really for her
best welfare. We all know how common it is for attorneys, and friends
of the defendant's to say to the girl's parents, "He is a fine young
man/' although he may have a venereal disease or a criminal record.
They may say to the parents, "Unless your daughter does marry this
man, her name will be ruined forever, and she will be sent to a refor-
matory until she is 21 years old, or perhaps for life." Perhaps the de-
fendant will borrow or rent an automobile for use while he calls on her
parents, for the purpose of impressing them with his great wealth.
Far too often the parents, through ignorance, fear, or old-world infor-
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132 DELINQUENTS AHD CORRECTION
matton as lo the necessity of inarnage under certain conditions, will
give away their daughter tn matrimony, only to repent after it is too late.
Now, 1 think that the children's court should step in at the earliest
stage of all such cases and ohtain a hold on the girl and see to it that
she is not allowed to be married to the defendant until after a thorough
inquiry by the probation officer and such medical or psychological
examinations as may be needed have shown that the marriage is prob-
ably desirable. In Italy and France no girl under 15 is allowed to
marry without a dispensation from the King of Italy or the President
of France, as the case may be; and the same law applies to boys under
IS, In Massachusetts and Michigan there are somewhat similar pro-
visions requiring the approval of the probate ^udge before a girl under
13 can wed. Why should we not look to the juvenile courts, or, better,
to the family courts, like the one in Cincinnati, to acquire jurisdiction
over such matters?
15. On motion of John J. Gascoyne, of Newark, N J., the meeting
in the capacity of representatives of the National Probation Association,
TOted to accept and approve Judge Hoffman's report and to continue
the committee another year.
16. William D, Matthews, Oklahoma City, also participated in the
discussion.
MUNICIPAL DETENTION FOR WOMEN
Jane Defter Rippin, Formerly Chief Proifation Officer of Fhiladelphm
There is no place in the country where all types of women and
girl offenders over the juvenile court age are detained while waiting for
disposition. Lawyers, social workers, policemen and citizens having con-
tacts with the children's courts appreciate the value of municipal deten-
tion for children and the methods of treatment worked out in connec-
tion with the detention houses in the disposition of cases. Experience has
proved that methods of treatment cannot be determined by chronological
age alone. We should extend the methods developed in children's courts
to apply to all ages, wiping out our arbitrary age line by improving the
treatment of the older groups.
The tendency in the socialization of courts has been to develop
municipal detention for women and woman's courts. California and
Pennsylvania seem to be leading in this experiment,
The data for this paper has been gathered from the court and the
House of Detention for Girls and Women coming under the jurisdiction
of the misdemeanants division of the Municipal Court of Philadelphia,
This House of Detention facilitates work by having in it the court room,
the medical clinic, the psychological clinic^ adequate quarters for the pro-
bation offices and the opportunity to classify the cases to be detained.
Since January, 191 7^ it has housed all the girls and women needing deten-
tion while awaiting court action by the Municipal Court — averaging not
far from one hundred new cases a month. It has also given shelter to
girls and women held for the federal authorities as witnesses or prisoners
in white slave and drug traffic cases. Two distinct groups are provided
for: the girls and the women arrested as street- walkers and younger
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MUNICIPAL DETENTION FOR WOMEN — RIPPIN
133
girls between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one charged by their parents
or guardians with being incorrigible or runaways.
This study would be much more illuminating if opportunity had
been given to study all groups of women offenders. The limited juris-
diction of this court makes this impossible.
During the year of 1917, 1205 women and girls new to the Mis-
demeanants Court were detained and their cases disposed of. The gen-
eral make-up of this group of girls and women in relation to the charges
against them, their nativity, conjugal condition, age, schooling, occupation
and wage, their habits and physical condition have been studied. Their
mental condition had been examined only when some abnormality was
suspected. This plan of selection has now given place to one by which
all the younger girls are examined mentally, with a view not only to de-
Table I, Nativity
QcniiBi 07 tj^m,
«.
HBOIRBI
0BDDF8
Total
U05
100
Thllttd StAt«l
1015
66
SUtea oti»r Uao PooMOflTiailm
Faam^lTanU
466
441
106
Fartlgn aaaiitri«t
16S
U
fc»iyH*-h |^*^iy
M
Sootlmnd
Otnftda
U
4
8
BiMiU and PoUiad not otlMr-
Til* »plSlfl94
46
tMtfliila
Jtt
Jwtrla
10
u
8
ItaU
17
8
z
Otbir fonlffi ootmtrita
7
~—
26
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134
DELTKQUEKTS AND CORRECTIOK
tccting irregularities, but also to cstimattng the girl's temperamental
make-up and forming plans for her accordingly.
The following tables indicate the possibilities for the tabulation of
social data through modern methods of dealing with women offenders.
Though tables cannot express the infinite variety of human reactions,
they suggest broad roads of treatment
The table on Nativity shows only 14 per cent of these girls arc
foreign born, as compared whh 25 per cent of foreign born in the total
population of Philadelphia.
This table indicates at first glance that a great proportion are un-
married, but when we realize that 47 per cent of the girls arc under 20
years of age the significance of this is lessened, particularly when wc know
that the average marrying age for women in Philadelphia is between 20
and 24 years^ as shown by studies in the Domestic Relations Court of
Philadelphia.
Table IL Conjugal Condition
^^tiL
flftlL
CQUJOIUL cosmiTioi
miOEB
im CS3T
torn
I20fi
100
tin^t
TCI
SI
ItaiTliit
1U
19
Svp.nt*d
1^»
u
■ Uovri
41
e 1
Bi¥*n3*a
U
1
lltaksna
1ft
1
TahU IIL
Relation between Charge and Age
CaiHOBB
ftvrATj
loss
[i&d»iH
-li=iS
T^M
BfriJ^
Pfl-M
Sfn"^
Ub4d
4M^
E£h£4
{^-^
gP-fil
kkM
^^^
""
ISQfi
u
, filG
E»
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9fl
;!£
IT
fl
rT
1
I
1
atn*t^«ikiq«
S4C
67
3QE
142
70 '
e«
M
9
£
1
1
a™^
a9E
ua
SB
'
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Inoorr^U*
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El«
lA
-
_
*
-
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-
-
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ProtHtlcAi
46
ii&
U
-
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1
-
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1
-
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Cooduat
U
-
fi
£1
t
6
I
3
S
-
-
-
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P3fiak«pxitii
3i
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1
1
10
E
fi
A
t
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1
1
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iMenaaj
e
-
-
1
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S
-
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MUNICIPAL DETENTION FOR WOMEN — RIPPIN
135
The highest per cent group comprises those between the ages of
16 and 19 years. This bears out the experience of the Probation Depart-
ment that the younger girls are more impressionable and their habits less
firmly fixed. It is with these girls, therefore, that the court can best
do its preventive and constructive work. These girls are usually brought
into court as incorrigibles and runaways, though they are prostitutes in
the making.
It is interesting to note that four-fifths of the girls were in Grades
IV, V, VI, VII and VIII, and the largest number had reached the eighth
grade. The thirty-one who had no schooling are made up mostly of the
foreign bom.
Table IV, Correlation between Grade and Age of Leaving School
xaxsL
\ofl
AOI or IClTm SCBOOL 1
So
e
9
10
U
U
12
14
16
16
17
16
19
20
or
OTor
Still
attmt
p. m-
lag
Total
not
91
2
5
17
26
94
KM
490
106
141
40
28
7
8
1
129
Vo Mhoollaff
91
91
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Uki«nid«lol«»
7
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
9 2
-
-
-
-
-
First
U
-
-
-
Ji
9
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
BMOflA
17
-
1
JC
4
JB
1
-
4
1
9
-
-
-
-
-
Silxd
66
-
-
1
JL
9
^
9
18
6
6
1
"
1
-
-
Fourth
U2
-
-
2
2
..i
16
Jft
60
U
6
1
-
-
-
-
Vifth
098
-
-
1
1
2
Jl
20
jsa-
89
U
1
1
2
1
-
Bizth
216
-
-
-
1
4
u
i&
110
Jk
26
6
8
-
-
-
aoTwth
125
-
-
-
-
-
9
16
i&
28
ifi.
Jl
JL
JL
-
-
Ul^th
2M
-
-
-
1
2
6
2«
84
-i&
44
12
4
-
Jk
-
Bl«^or TMh.
Stfhool
66
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
9
U
JA.
ISL
JL
1
1
1
Ooilic*
4
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Z
1
1
-
-
-
**^
202
-
L
1
6
2
4
7
81
16
16
6
6
1
-
-
107
Even allowing for inaccuracies of statement as to grade and age of
leaving school and discrepancies between the grading used in Philadelphia
and that of other places, this table shows a decided tendency among these
girls and women to have been quite definitely behind their normal grade
in school. Of the total 949 girls whose ages and grading upon leaving
school were known, 597, or 63 per cent, were retarded, and 356, or 38
per cent, were retarded two years or more. It will also be noted that this
tendency toward retardation increases with age. With those of ten years,
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136
DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
for instance, those below their grade fonn 50 per cent of the total;
at eleven years they form 54 per cent ; at twelve yearSi 48 per cent ; at
thirteen years, 44 per cent; at fourteen ^ 62 per cent: at fifteen, 64 per
cent; and at sixteen, seventeen, eighteen and nineteen years, or high
school ages, the proportion swells to 81 per cent.
Of the total number of K'tls whose occupations were known^ 40
per cent were semi-skilled factory operatives, averaging a weekly wage
of $8.00. The house servants, who form the next highest group, give
us 16 per cent of the number. This contradicts the once more or less
prevalent idea that the house servant was the greatest source of supply to
prostitution. It is interesting to note that almost no industrial group
is omitted.
Table V. Correlation of OccuPalion and Wag*
oocgi^fioii
isau If
for
-XiLUL.
XMiL
Mia&
UhU
1£I
.^li.
SOUI4 &4rTWt«
Loandrr Op«r.
Ditto* Ft
8bo« yirls
tvltphfrM
3Dt«l ■•rvantt
Cbl^d Eniri4i
DkilLlir* A
I a.00
4.80
6.00
6.00
4.80
6.00
19.00
9.00
7.00
BJOO
5.00
«,0O
ST
This table rather tends to prove that certain industries, such as
textile mills, clothing and cigar factories, bear s^me special relation to
delinquency, though this may be a condition local to Philadelphia, since
these industries prevail in those sections of the cit>^ from which delinquents
are most likely to come.
Habits of drinking and using drugs are closely allied with the
charges of street-walking and di<iordcrly conduct.
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MUNICIPAL DETENTION FOR WOMEN — RIPPIN
%
Table VL Relation between Charge and Occupation
137
aocirPATioia
lAi 3act-3EiLLS) PiGrojar OFSHirr^r
IQSAI
S9
li
il
_l£liL
i2ffifiia3Hg2Q&£LfiL2UUUI
JLL
1&
3tra*t^«nilkl3«
545
£92
2e26SfiL3LlLl
40 24L5L4 6
DlftOrdAElj OOBdXttl
295{S4Le 6
2 613
3
46
Table VIL Relation between Charge and Habits
mMi
no8i nBoim as huo oi lAfno m
SVO OOBS OR BOfB
nooordod «•
noTor bolBff
Aloobollo
or
DrocUooro-
•loo
WkBom
JSftHL
Aloo-
hollo
Droc
Uoort
80 th
Aloo-
hollo
and
iloobollo
BOW, -
ronwr
Drug
door
roTMr
Sros
nsor
rOIMT
AlOO-
UOB
888
210
10
84
10
6
880
ItTWt
lUKlBC
846
886
178
67
82
10
6
269
lai»V
t»a
82
80
1
-
-
270
[BMrrl«in«
t»
H
U
-
-
-
221
!if«lHtl«
46
8
1
-
-
1
42
>LHr4*riT
44
80
IT
1
.
-
•
24
u
86
86
-
-
.
-
F«ir«««r
a
4
4
•
•
•
-
4
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138
DELINQUENTS AND CORRECnON
When compared with tables giving the percentage among institu-
tion inmates of those known to have venereal disease, this table shows a
remarkable difference. The group under the observation of the probation
officer, whtle a selected group^ is much less limited in its scope than the
group finally sentenced to the institution and offers, therefore, a broader
though less intensive field for study.
In the final disposition of the 1,205 cases, 299 were adjusted with-
out court hearing, 467 were placed on probation, 195 were discharged
and 444 were committed for various kinds of institutional treatment,
including hospitals*
Table VUL PrevaUnce of SypfUlis, Gonorrhoea, and Tuberculosis among
750 New Cases Examined
£12£S^
2PW
700
lo Tab«r4nI<:)iiB, e;nfttlli
469
Q^aorrto** otily
UT
Sjphiiii OBir
lOT
Siyifeilli «od aom^rrbAU
42
Tubircalo0U ajid j^jrfbili*
1
futftnoloili otilr
■
TffifTMllr nii»t«4 EG9
Among the 26 per cent whose cases were settled outside the court
room, it is interesting to note the relation of the complainant to the
disposition of the case. The largest proportion^ 105, or 35 per cent,
were reported by the girls* parents. The next largest number, 39, were
referred by social agencies, who may have come to know the gtrPs diffi-
culty in attempting to solve other problems in her family, or who may
have come into direct contact with her as a runaway or incorrigible and
felt the question outside their province, A number were brought to the
court by the police, being for the most part runaways of whom the
detective bureau had been informed and for whom search was being
made. Others were referred by the juvenile court, where they had been
sent because mistakenly supposed to be under sixteen or where they had
been as juvenile offenders, but having outgrown the age of jurisdiction
in that court, were considered not ready for release from the probation
officer's care. In 1 67, or a little over half, of these cases, the trouble was
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DEUNQUBKT WOMEN AKD CHILDRBN^ — DISCUSSION 139
adjusted by the probation department, thus saving the girl from the
stigma of a court hearing.
The advance in modern thought in regard to the treatment of
women oflFenders is expressed in the greater stress laid upon the investi-
gation and oWrvation of every individual with the purpose of social
readjustment wherever possible. Detention houses which provide op-
portunities for this careful study arc evidence of the recognition of
its importance. Probation has already proved its value, Legistarion
which enforces the care of women with venereal disease, is already es-
tablished in some states. The next progressive step to be taken is the
passing of such laws as shall provide permanent custodial care for the
feebleminded and the psychopathic delinquent women and g;irls.
INFORMAL DISCUSSION
1. C. C. Carstens, general secretary of the Massachusetts Society
for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Boston, saidr In the process
of reshaping our children's codes in the various states, it is important
to remember that at the present time courts in many instances are deal-
ing brutally with young girl offenders when they come to testify regard-
ing the sex crimes that have been committed in which they were the
victims. In the development of the juvenile court system, a few cities,
and parttcularly Chicago, ought to be held up as examples for all of us
in that they have sought to make provision to meet this need, but I
doubt tf any of our cities have as yet developed a thoroughgoing method
of dealing with this problem.
When the young girl who has been the victim of a sex crime comes
before the court, the result is that she becomes the greater sufferer
rather than the man. After having told her !vtory before the lower
court, she has to go before the grand jury and lay bare her soul and
then it is necessary for her to go before the trial jury, withstand the
grilling of opposing counsel, requiring her to go into minute details
regarding the crime^ with the result that there is in most instances very
little self-respect left. We have developed a juvenile court for the pur-
pose of giving greater protection to those who have committed delin-
quencies, but we are failing to protect the juvenile in sex cases where
they themselves are the victims.
It is necessary in the development of our children's codes and
our criminal codes to establish, if possible, a method by which there
shall be only one hearing, and to relieve the young girl of the neces-
sity of telling her story again and again. If an appeal is taken it
should be possible only on questions of law. At the present time a
group of children's workers are giving thought to this subject. Out
of it should come a more humane way of dealing with this problem.
2. In response to a question^ Mr, Car^tens said that the sug-
gestions on this subject should be sent to Mr James E. Ewers of the
Cleveland Humane Society, Mr, Ewers being chairman of a sub-
committee of a group representing the Children's Protective Agencies.
Mr, Ewers spoke of the object of this group being chiefly to protect
girls when they appear before criminal courts in the prosecution of
adult offenders. Among other things, the committee is considering
the possibility of eliminating the personal appearance of girl witnesses
before grand juries.
3. In response to a question, Mrs. Ripfnn said that of the 527
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140 DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
erirls referred to by her as runaways and incorrigibles only 4 were
non-sex offenders.
4. Others who participated in the informal discussion, which
consisted chiefly of questions relating to the [cading address, were:
Roger N, Baldwin, Xew York; George B. Nevvcomb, Bismarck^ N. D*;
Mrs. Ophelia L. Amigh, Birmingham; Rev. A. J. Haupt, St. Paul; Mrs.
T. F. Kinney. Minneapolis; Maude E, Miner^ New York; James E,
Ewers, Cleveland.
CURRENT TENDENCIES IN ADULT PROBATION
Edwin J, Ctioiey, Chief Probation Officer^ Magistratet' Courts^
New York
For the past decade the probation officers of the country have been
making a pilgrimage once a year to this conference of the National
Probation Association, to compare notes, to clarlfj^ their minds and to
measure values and results* It would appear, therefore, that at this, our
tenth annual meeting^ we might with profit pause a moment to take
stock, and turn an introspective eye upon ourselves^ our work and tht
probation service.
Social service is one of the finest developments of the Twentieth Cen-
tury. The Nineteenth Century savir the inception and birth of this vast
movement for the improvement of society. The attitude of people towards
their fellow-beings has been changed exceedingly in the past century.
At the beginning of the Nineteenth Century, the insane, the feeble*
minded and the epileptic, for the most part, were treated as criminals and
cruelly punished^ and very little family relief work of a scientific charac-
ter prevailed, Peopie were allowed to go hungry and cold^ infants allowed
to die, the aged were not cared for, and all the misfits of society w-ere
treated with cruelty and contempt. Criminals were punished in the most
horrible manner for very slight offences.
A survey of the situation at the present time^ in the second decade
of the Twentieth Centurj', reveals a remarkable transformation. Family
relief work has become an indispensable function of the municipal govern-
ment. The state now takes care of its blind, its deaf, its insane, its
feeble-minded and epileptic. Penology emphasizes not so much punish-
ment for punishment's sake, as the reformative and educative effects of
prison sentence. Foundlings, orphans, and the aged, in fact all types
of dependents, are now more than ever being treated humanely and
skillfully.
The great industrial establishments of the country arc introducing
social welfare work in their factories, as an investment in human effici-
ency* It is not a namby-pamby experiment in emotional expression » but
a hard-headed business proposition which pays returns in dollars and
cents.
It is only during the past few decades that probation has been born
and has stepped into the courts of our country to humanize harsh and
rigorous legal procedure, and to act as the gloved hand of the law. It
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CURRENT TENDENCIES IN ADULT PROBATION — COOLEY
141
has been demonstrated, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that probation,
entirely aside from its saving of the human and spiritual resources of the
community, is a paying investment in terms of dollars and cents. We
now all know that it is cheaper to pay probation officers to supervise pro-
bationers, than it is for the state to construct and maintain extensive
penal institutions.
Probation Requires Testing
Probation has been accepted by the community, and no longer do
workers in this field have to fight to retain its standing in the eyes of the
law. The community in general has adopted us as a legitimate part in
the scheme of social machinery. Our present task, therefore, is that
of justifying our continuance in the eyes of the community. When
probation was in its infancy, much could be forgiven it, but now that
probation has passed into maturity, the community will survey it with
a much more critical eye, will place greater demands upon it and will
expect definite and permanent results. Our next step, therefore, to
facilitate the production of the expected results, is to formulate and
work out a definite body of knowledge and a scheme of procedure. Mr.
Arthur W, Towne, former secretary of the New York State Probation
Commission, has aptly summarized the situation: "The devedopment
of probation has reached the state where extension is not as important as
are a critical study of the system and refinement of its methods, and the
wiUingness to allow experimentation in certain features of its administra-
tion."
Moreover, the sheer volume of work gives us pause. The number
of juvenile and adult persons released by our courts during 1917 in
New York state, was greater than ever before, totaling 22,518 persons.
We must recognize, therefore, that with over twenty-two regiments of
juvenile deliquents and adult offenders placed on probation in a single
year, the probation system in New York state, taking it as an example,
has assumed immense proportions and demands careful, intelligent study
and administration.
Probation, in order to reach its highest development and in order
to perfect a methodology of its own similar to that of other professions,
must sharply define its wants, it problems, and its methods of procedure.
The medical profession, for example, as an organized body, fixes its rates
of compensation, formulates its own code of ethics in accordance with
objective morality, determines in the main the body of its knowledge,
criticizing and refining it constantly, and develops its technique. Simi-
larly, probation must work for an improvement of the conditions under
which it must labor, and, by means of experiment, analysis and careful
planning, must work out a methodology or technique of procedure. In
the present discussion let us consider, therefore, in the main:
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142 DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
First: the fundamental working conditions necessary for efiective
probation work.
Second: the problems of formulating and improving the method-
ology; that is to say, the technique of the probation one t hod,
/. Fundamental fV or king Condi thns
Let us first consider the problem of the improvement of the probation
officers's working conditions. In order that a probation officer may have
the opportunity of accomplishing any adequate results, he must not be
overburdened with work. No probation officer can properly supervise,
for example, t^^^o or three hundred cases at one time. Every possible
attempt should be made to reduce the quota per officer to fifty proba-
tioners under supervision at one time. Again, probation officers should
work for an increase of compensation until the proper standards of
salaries arc obtained » whereby men of the right type of mind and ability
Will be attracted to the profession and retained in the service.
Furthermore, probation officers should see to it that they are not
overburdened by clerical work. An adequate clerical staff must be
provided so that time is available for the essential field duties of the
probation officer No probation officer should be compelled to make
his preliminary investigation reports in long hand, or do all of his case
history work, correspondence and reports in long hand. A sufficient
number of typists, record clerks and dictaphones should be provided for
these purposes.
Most important of all is the kind of material that the probation
officer is given to work upon. Probation officers cannot accomplish the
impossible. They must not be given confirmed alcholics^ habitual
criminals, hardened prostitutes, feebledminded or defective persons, as
material to improve and transform into normal, happy human beings.
The source of the supply of material must be protected and judges must
be led to recognize the importance of the right choice In the kind of
persons to be placed on probation.
Let mc emphasize again that an improvement of the conditions
under which we work is as essential to the highest development of pro-
bation, as is the improvement of the methods of the actual, practical
details of our work. Hand in hand with our refinement, for example, of
the methods of conducting preliminary investigations, must go our fight
for a reasonable amount of work, adequate compensation, adequate
clerical help, and the proper human material to work upon. Assuming
that we are agreed as to the necessity of obtaining the proper conditions
under which to work, let us now consider how we can develop a meth-
odology to improve the quality and test the results of our work.
As you all know, preliminary investigations of offenders are abso-
lutely essential to any constructive probation work. It must not be for-
gotten, however, that preliminary investigation w^ork is only the first
step in the proce^. It occupies the same place in probation as diagnosis
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CURRENT TENDENCIES IN ADULT PROBATION — COOLBY 143
docs in medicine. It opens up, analyzes the problem and puts its finger
on the specific diseased part. As in medicine, very little practical good
would result if the physician spent the greater part of his time in the
diagnosis of a large number of persons and made but little effort to treat
them* So in probation, only a slight advance will be made if probation
officers spend practically all of their time conducting investigations and
make but little effort to help the offenders placed in their care.
As a means of preventing the work of investigations from interfering
unduly with the proper carrying on of the probation work, we are going
to try out the interesting experiment in the Magistrates* Courts of New
York City, of dividing our probation staff into a corps of investigators
and a corps of supervising ofScers. We hope through this specilization
materially to improve our work and to render more constructive suepr-
visory care to the large number of delinquents in our charge.
As a general proposition, therefore, we should urge the exercise of
care on the part of justices and magistrates throughout the country, lest
the making of preliminary investigations require so much of the time of
the probation officers as to prevent them from properly performing their
principal duty of looking after and aiding persons who are placed on
probation.
//. Improving the Technique
One of the current developments in our Probation work is the
realization that there is a definite methodology in the making of a com-
prehensive diagnosis of a delinquent. Miss Mary E. Richmond's book.
Social Diagnosis, which, by the way, should be in the hands of every pro-
bation officer, is a very definite step in the development of social case
technique. Wc have passed the day in probation work when perfunctory
and superficial investigation and supervision of a defendant will suffice.
Wc must go to the root of the trouble and get accurate information as
to the structure and functioning of the human mechanism we are trying
to repair and rehabilitate. How can we expect to modify temperament
and character if we are ignorant or indifferent in regard to the nature of
the biological, moral and social forces regulating temperament and char-
acter?
In order to accomplish our purpose it is obvious that we must study
intensively the lives of the human beings in our care. We must train
ourselves to become capable of observing the causes and effects of human
conduct, and of recording the manner in which probationers respond to
various methods of treatment and of discovering definitely the causes of
our failures and successes. We must correlate the results of our experi-
ence and discover principles which will serve as compass and chart for
future navigation. Diagnosis is the hardest part of medicine, but very
often the correct diagnosis of a given problem suggests the proper
treatment.
That many delinquents are defective mentally and physically and
that this is a contributing, if not the principal cause of their offenses, is a _
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144 DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
matter of cver>^-day obscn-ation in our courts. Not only should the facts
of feeble-minded ness, dementia praecox, and other abnormal mental
conditions be determined, but the presence of tuberculosis, venereal and
other diseases, the effects of alcoholism and other excesses, and the degree
of mental and moral responsibility should be, if possible, ascertained. The
trained psychologist working in otir courts can be of the greatest assist-
ance to the probation officer in his efforts to cope with the problems of
the delinquent.
The idea of clearing houses as aids to court work, probation and
parole, as a necessary part of the machinery of justice, is an important
current tendency in probation work. On May I, 1918, the state of Ohio
established its new Bureau of Juvenile Research. Under the juvenile
research law, all wayward and defective youths are to be committed by
the courts to the Ohio Board of Administration, instead of directly to the
various institutions. After mental and physical examination and social
investigation, the bureau will decide whether the children are normal or
defective. Defectives will remain in the custody of the state and will
be assigned to the proper institutions for treatment. Normal, but delin-
quent children, whenever possible, will be paroled. Along these lines
we have the current administrative problems in our large cities of the
possible correlation of probation and parole, and the possible consolida*
tion of the probation systems of the various courts under a commissioner
or commission, for consideration and decision.
It has been said of the great Napoleon that he once declared that
the best thing he ever did was to decide that he no longer would see
things as he wanted to see them but as they really existed. If we would
take that position and determine to look at things as they are, could we
not make great improvements in our work? One of the commonest
weaknesses in Probation work is that many probation officers have more
work than they can do well, with the result that they can make but little
effort to better the conditions of probationers or improve their associa-
tions and habits. They have little opportunity to do other than have
the probationers report to them in a perfunctory manner each week or
at longer intervals. Such reports if made personally may occupy often
only a moment or so, sometimes they are made by mail. Should we not
protest vigorously against such conditions and make a determined fight
for relief before the proper authorities? Should we not be alive to the
danger of our work becoming mechanical and devoid of human warmth
and sympathy? If a minute analysis of our work were conducted, in
how many cases would it be found that we made an intensive study of
each probationer and that under the circumstances we did the best
we could for all those who were under our care? These arc important
and pertinent questions, and must he answered in the light of the facts.
Of course, you are all aware of the various influences that can be
brought to bear upon the probationer to effect his reformation. For
example, the probation officer should make an adequate number of home
visits so as to acquaint himself intimately with the probationer's cnviron-
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CURRENT TENDENCIES IN ADULT PROBATION COOLEY 145
ment and associates. Religious influences, proper recreation and remu-
nerative employment should be provided. We must realize that no two
persons are alike, and even though they have committed the same sort
of offense, it does not follow that they can be reached in the same way.
Case conferences should Be held frequently to consider special problems
and peculiar and difficult case^.
Some years ago a very wise probation officer remarked: "The most
effective probation work that I have ever come in contact with is the
result of tying up the probationer to the constructive forces of the com-
munity. If you fill his life full of constructive things he will neither
have time nor opportunity for the destructive." This was another way of
saying that he recognized the values of co-operation. Hans Gross tells
us that only the sham knows everything; the trained man understands
how comparatively little the mind of any individual can grasp and how
many must cooperate in order to explain the very simplest things. The
successful probation officer recognizes his limitations. He realizes that
he cannot do everything. It is his bounden duty to keep in such close
touch with the social agencies of the community that by simply stepping
to the telephone he can command immediately their best resources and
co-operation. The past ten years have taught us the necessity of getting
together al! the forces of the community to aid in the solution of probation
problems-
Statistics and Publicity
One of the great problems of the probation officer is the checking up
of violations of probation conditions. Courts and probation officers have
no greater responsibility than to keej) the probation system from becom-
ing regarded by offenders and the general public as a system of senti-
mental leniency — of simply letting offenders off without punishment.
Probation is intended to give the delinquent not only another chance, but
also real oversight, practical assistance, and the assurance that in case of
continued misconduct he will be returned to court and be more severely
dealt with. Probation fails of its purpose unless it is very definitely
and concretely a helpful disciplinary and reformatory agency.
An interesting experiment is about to be set on foot in the City
Magistrates' Courts of New York City, namely, that of a probation part,
or court* This court will be presided over by a special judge, who will
devote ample time to the consideration of probation problems. He
will review periodically the progress of probationers, will reprimand or
sentence all violators of probationary conditions, and will discharge in an
impressive manner probationers whose periods of probation have
terminated.
Adequate probation forms and proper records and an accurate system
of reports and supervision should be an essential part of the probation
system. Probation has reached the stage of development when it should
commence to check up scientifically the results of its efforts. A great deal
of time and effort should be spent on the checking up of persons released
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14<S DBLINQUBIITS AND CORRECTION
from probation. From the successes or failures^ in the long run, wc
determine the relative value of certain types of activities of our v^ork as
compared to others, and if results arc favorable we can take increascii
confidence in our work. Such a study was m%dc in Buffalo, N. Y,, in
1915, with interesting and enlightening results. Of this study Mr.
Homer Folks said: "This study has given me a greater degree of
security, confidence and satisfaction in the ultimate results of our pro-
bation work in serious cases, than any other examination that has so
far been made,"
Publicity is a duty incumbent upon us and not an optional act.
Publicity is a recognition by the probation officer of his stewardship to
the public. By publicity we mean the kind of publicity that explains,
.Jbat stimulates, that clarifies, that fights, that defends, that gives the
public the knowledge it has a right to ask. How can this be done? In
many ways. Let us make our annual reports not only accurate, but
interesting. Let us make our literature attractive and educational. Let
us accept such opportunities as come to us naturally to appear before the
public and speak of our work. Let us discover what is valuable to a
newspaper, and reveal to it the so-called human interest side of our pro*
fession* We must publish facts and findings and must constitute our-
selves guides of the public, or we shall often find ourselves in the em-
barrassing situation of being compelled to defend certain fundamental
principles of our work w^hich have seemed to us personally so axiomatic
as to require not even an exposition.
In the ultimate analysis, however, the value of probation to the
individual probationer is due only slightly to the methods or the
machinery used. Fundamentally, its value depends largely upon what the
individual probation officer does for the particular persons entrusted to
his care. No system without constructive, discnminating, individual
work can operate well. The great surgeon is the man who has devoted
himself earnestly to his profession and has brought to it right altruism,
high intelligence, earnest zeal and all the powers of his personality,
probation is a difficult profession, demanding skillful service. Entrusted
to the man or woman who merely looks upon it as a political job, pro-
bation is doomed to failure. No matter how swift and powerful an
aeroplane may be, it will never give maximum service to an army unless
directed by the skilled hand of a trained airman.
Should we not, therefore, approach our task with great humility,
with a proper respect for its difficulties and with a true appreciation of
its opportunities? Should we not by training, reading, and conference,
endeavor to acquire all of the knowledge which will help us to do our
work more effectively? Should we not endeavor to learn from all
agencies and individuals the truths which they have discovered in their
respective field and which we can utilize in our own. Should we not give
a careful study to the relative merits of different methods of applying pro-
bation, and improve our case treatment in the light of such study?
Should we not approach every individual probationer with a conscientious
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PRINCIPLES OF PAROLE FOR GIRLS — BURLEIGH 147
dctenninadon to give him the best service of which we are capable,
realizing that his future is largely in our hands?
A broad vista of opportunity stretches before us. The probation
officer is primarily a builder of human character, a force for the better-
ment of social life. As yet the community is not fully alive to our work
nor does it realize clearly just what the probation ofScers are attempting
to accomplish in their daily work. The day of this realization, however,
IS approaching us swiftly, and with it will come progressive rewards
and recognition of the dignity of our Public service. Those who have
visited the battle fronts of the Great War have come back impressed
with the wonderful efficiency which our forces are showing in the strug-
gle. More impressive, however, than the machinery which has been put
into action are the splendid human qualities of loyalty, co-operation, pre-
cision, orderliness, self-sacrifice, and spiritual devotedness evinced by
the officers and men — the same qualities which you and I know to be
essential to effective probation work.
As we do our work from day to day and make tests of our individual
output, let us make sure that back of our efforts are the courage and
loyalty and conception of the greatness of the task which alone can pro-
duce the highest dBiciency. Let us respect the great constructive work in
which we are engaged. Let us always remember that its code of ethics
is based upon the true service that we owe and wish to give humanity.
A wise philosopher once said that the only wealth is life. In our fallible
human way we are trying to give a more abundant life to those unfortu-
nates of society who come under our care.
SOME PRINCIPLES FOR PAROLE FOR GIRLS
Edith N. Burleigh, Superintendent Girls Parole Department, Trustee of
Massachusetts Training Schools, Boston
Unless parole is considered in its relation to a state program for
the correction of deliquency, no true estimate of its value can be made.
Penology should deal with correctional systems and should recognize
the various phases of treatment as parts of one whole, preserving the
relations of one part to another and the interdependence of the parts.
The following paper attempts to indicate the place of parole in the
care of the deliquent girl and some of its principles.
We are considering girls who have been committed to the instiution
by the court because of having broken certain laws or statutes. We are
not talking about dependent or neglected children, who in certain states
are being put into industrial schools. We are also assuming that the
institution has been established as a training school on the cottage plan,
which means a certain free life as contrasted with the stricter discipline
which goes with the high walls of reformatory institutions.
It is because the girl could not adjust herself, was a misfit in the
community, that she was sent to the institution. Parole is the process
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148 DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
of re-etlucation — the specific kind of community service through which
the girl is reabsorbed into free community life.
Place of Paroie ami Probation in the Correciinnal System
The difFerence between parole and probation is that parole is
dealing with a girl who has been removed entirely from the community
and subject to all the influences of institution life, while probation
undertakes readjustment without this experience. No girl of average
mentality could pass unchanged through a period of enforced retire-
ment in an institution, because so many new forces have been brought
to bear upon her.
It is the purpose of this paper^ then, to discuss by what methods
--parole can best accomplish its end, establishment of the girl in free com-
munity life as a helpful force. Its conclusions are based on experience
with girk only and may differ materially from the principles applicable
to the parole of boys and adults. Reabsorption into the community is
governed in each instance by widely differing considerations. The
normal boy* for instance, has an economic value and an interest in his
own economic efficiency. Such interest is secondary in importance with
the girl — at least in her own mind. Earning her living presents itself
to her in a form which offers none of the inducements of a career and
is but a necessary tiding over of the time on til she shall marry and have
a home of her own — ^a frankly avowed ambition with a majority of these
girls. This difference in mental attitude must have a great bearing in
determining methods of parole and methods should be applied principles.
The fact that parole should be a part of any correctional system
will undoubtedly be accepted. It is concede^ by some of the most
progressive instiution superintendents that parole is of importance equal
to that of the institution. Their rex<?on for this rather radical stand is
that the institution, because of its restricted and practically homogeneous
group, cannot hope to complete the girl's trainings since it can offer no
practical application of the knowledge gained in her industrial training,
nor test the sincerity of her change of heart and the strength of her
good resolutions when the girl is called upon to face the temptations of
normal community life. The institution, then, is only the first step
along the road to the complete rehabilitation of the girL
Theories Examined
As the unrestricted return of the girt to the community is mani*
festly too dangerous both for society and for the girl, a second step
most be provided for in the state program which shall include continued
training and supervision. The return of the girl to the community
under these conditions is made possible by a system of parole. There
are several theories as to the best system.
Most institutions have a parole oflicc» perhaps several officers,
belonging to the staff, where possible living in the institution, and
usually having some duties in the institution itself. These parole officers
are under the direction of the superintendent of the institution. This
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PRINCIPLES OF PAROLE FOR GIRLS — BURLEIGH 149
system has been upheld on the ground that the girl was best known to,
and therefore be^t handled by a person living with her in the institution.
A theory more recently advocated is that parole and probation should
be co-ordinated and that when the girl is paroled from the institution
she should be returned to the jurisdiction of the court which committed
her, as otherwise the knowledge of her gained through the investigation
for the court m ould not be available.
The real test for any theory of parole is how efiFectively it can
accomplish its object — the complete restoration of the girl. A parole
system established as an independent outside departn^ent, under the
same board of trustees would seem to be the most effective means of
solving the problem. While under certain conditions parole might be
well done under the direction of the superintendent of the institution,
separation from it insures a more complete identification of the girl with
the community from the start. It marks for her the second step in her
progress toward freedom. The possibilities of parole are so great that
the work needs most careful organization and the undivided attention
of its officers. They should not be hampered or distracted by the
problems of the institution, since their work demands a constant study
of the resources in the community which can be utilized for the develop-
ment of the girl on parole. This study can be made best by people
who arc themselves a part of the community.
Separation from the Institution
Parole should offer the girl a chance to put behind her all the signs
of her del iquency— court, probation, institution — and herein lies the
strongest argument against the co-ordination of probation and parole.
This separation need imply no disloyalty to the institution which has
done so much for her, but it allows the girl to become more completely
hitched up to the community from the beginning of her parole. She
must not fly back to the institution as a refuge from the difficulties or
the temptations she meets. She must learn how to fight them in the
open with the resources which are available to her there.
This encouragement of independence of the institution does not
preclude the return of girls to it when necessary for the protection of
the girl and of the community. In certain instances girls need the discipline
of the institution, sometimes they need medical treatment, or furtl)er
training to make them capable of earning their living.
It is fundamentally bad for the girl to make the reformatory insti-
tution a home centre. It should be a background for future attainment
instead, }Nnh every desire to give the girl a sense that she has a home,
tying her to the institution unwittingly helps to prevent her from making
new and more normal ties in the community. I believe this would hold
true also of any plan which held the girls together in a group anywhere
outside the institution, such as a home from which the girls went out
to work in factories or stores. Any such group, even though in a lesser
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150 DELmQUBHTS AND CORRECTION
degree, continues the abnormal segregation of the institution and lessens
the chances of the complete readjustment of the girl m society.
The continuance of association formed in the institution with girls
of lower standards than those acceptable to the community tends to
lessen in the girrs eyes the seriousness of the offence she had committed.
It is only after she comes out on parole that she can make her first
application of the principles of right living taught her in the school. It
is then she realizes that if she does things other people condemn^ she
cannot hope to win their respect or to maintain her own self-respect.
The stimulating mental effect upon the girl of marking her forward
progress by this separation of institution and parole is evident, because
it offers her a new allegiance, a new loyalty, new influences, a chance to
^gin all over again with new people and under entirely new conditions,
where old failures need not be recalled.
As in most instances her own home does not offer the best oppor-
tunities for her development, it is usually necessary to secure for the
. girl a home in a family very carefully selected to fit her special needs,
a home which will give her in an unusual degree oversight, protection
and opportunities for further training. In every instance the girl's
temperament and capacities must be considered. It would be disastrous
to place a slow-moving, slow-thinking girl with a quick, red-haired
woman — the discouragements of both would be too great; or again to
give a chronic runaway a place with unrestricted chance to slip away
from the woman's notice.
Working Principles of Parole
This leads us to the conclusion that certain working principles^
certain methods are essential to successful parole. These working prin-
ciples interlock but can be differentiated.
L The first of these is individual treat men tj, based on knowledge
of an individual. Each girl is an individual problem and her mental
attitude as well as her capacities must be considered. The school has
been teaching her the fundamentals of good conduct — truthfulness,
honesty, clean thinking — as well as giving her industrial training, supple-
menting her school education and laying the foundations of habits of
self-control, cleanliness, order and industry.
The girl's attitude towards her parole depends upon how much hold,
how much formative power, the institution has acquired over her. She
may be determined to begin over again, her success depending only on
her strength of willj or she may look upon parole as an opportunity
to have her own way, to be free; or she may dread it as she has grown
dependent on the institution, A more or less childish attitude seems to
be a frequent r^ult of group treatment It is the responsibility of any
parole system to comprehend and meet any of these attitudes.
No treatment of the individual can be intelligent which is not
based on a thorough knowledge of that individual; her heredity, her
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PRINCIPLBS OF PAROLE FOR GIRLS — BURLEIGH 151
environmcntp her companions, her reactions to school, her recreation,
her health, her characteristics and disposition, and her delinquencies
prior to her cominitraent. A thorough investigation of the girl's back-
ground should be made as soon as possible after conunitment, in order
that the instftution can do its work intelligently and prepare the girl
for parole. The information thus gained is also of great value when
the girl comes out on parole.
A person is her potentialities (not what she is, but what she may
be) plus her experiences. The girl who has had institution treatment is
different from a girl who has never had it, and different from what
she would have been if she had never had it, because it is an added
layer of experience. So it is necessary to add to what has been leaned
about the girl prior to her commitment, her reactions to the institution.
These may be learned from reports from the various people who have
come in contact with her in the school. They should cover as many
sides as passible.
While it may be easier for the girl to know her visitor before she
comes out on parole, there are real advantages in making a fresh start.
It adds to the adventure. Such appeals to the imagination of the girl
arc real helps in arresting her attention and catching her interest at the
beginning.
2. This individual treatment can only be secured by oversight over
cveiy girl— *the second working principle. It is through constant over-
sight that the girl's development is noted and her best interests insured.
This oversight is secured by means of visitors, each visitor responsible
for a certain number of girls who look to her for sympathy and guidance.
3- This oversight means also the protection of the girl — the third
working principle. Protection includes both the girl and the communit}'
— protection of the girl from temptation by placing her in an environ-
ment which will stimulate her good impulses at the same time that it
attracts and interests her. Oversight over the girl may protect her from
exploitation through overwork, or neglect of her health or happiness.
The protection of the girl from her bad impulses protects both the
girl and the community.
4. The fourth working principle, education, or re-education, is one
of the most important. To make oversight and protection possible, the
girls, when they first come from the institution need to be placed at
housework. There are several reasons for this — the chief reasons are
because it is only at housework that they can be constantly supervised
and protected and because, having come from bad or weak homes, they
need to learn the essentials of a good, happy, well-ordered home, as most
of them will become home-makers themselves. There is a third reason
for this placing of girls in families; a good employer, who is willing to
interest herself in the further training and welfare of the girl is a power-
ful means of regeneration. If the girl learns to love and respect the
woman she licvs with and works with, she learns lessons in right-living,
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152 DELINQUEKTS AND CORRECTION
the value of which cannot be overestimated. It may take several trials
before a girl is fitted into the home best suited to influence her, but the
final result is worth the most patient search in g.
Return to her own home may be educative if it is made under the
right circumstances. Either the home should loffer special constructive
influences or the girl should have developed sufficient character to grow
through the responsibility of raising the standards of her home. Ideally^
constructive study of the family of the girl should be made while the
girl is in the care of the state. How can new forces be set to work to
build up a new family life and thus bring about a safe reuniting of girl
^nd family?
The girl's church connections may be a great influence in her
rehabilitation. While many of the girls have not developed any real
religious feeling, they get in the habit of forming their social contacts
through the church. Some girls are honestly and deeply religious. A
true spiritual awakening is always possible ami is always most hopeful.
Recreation means to most of the girls before they come to the school
the commercialized recreation of the "movies*' and the dance halls. They
know nothing of the wholesome pleasures of purely social intercourse.
The good-will aroused in the give-and-take of happy family-sharing of
good times, the generous impulses awakened and the quickened intellec-
tual response resulting from social contacts of the right sort contribute
largely to the growth of the girl's character. It is usually possible to
gratify a girl's ambition for lessons in music, in school branches or in
various other things in which she is interested, either through private
lessons or through the public schoolsj where under wise oversight, a girl
who has failed utterly before commitment because of bad influences, may
be reabsorbed into the school population and become a normali happy
unit of it.
The establishment of the habit of thrift is another source of educa-
tion and is most important for the welfare of the girl and of the state*
It is only through thrifty habits that the ^ir] can be self-supporting
when she has to stand upon her own feet after she passes out of the care
of the state. The ^irl must be taught frugality which is the basis of
prosperity— respect both for the uses and the values of things. If you
can show the girl that frut^ality has associated with it the Joy of achieve-
ment she will find real pleasure and pride in making over her dresses
and retrimming her hats. The attractiveness of planning is a wedge
between the girl and the temptation of pretty clothes which can other-
wise be hers only through illicit means* As far as possible the girl
should he self-supporting from the start. Self-support and self-respect
are closely allied. A girl who feels that whatever the state does for
her is no more than her due, that havlnji been committed to the school
against her will, the state should support her, must be taught to realize
that this is not the attitude of self-respecting people. Her growing
independence may well give her a new vision of her relations to others.
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PIUNCIPLES OF PAROLE FOR GIRLS — BURLEIOH 153
5. The fifth working principle is closely linked to all the others and
is the care of the girl's healih. A parole system has no greater responsi-
bility than this. Many of these girls arc physically in poor condition, it
they are not diseased at the time of their commitment They make
surprising gains because of the regular life and the medical care of the
institution^ but the neglect some of them have previously experienced* the
natural delicacy of others as well as the normal possibilities of illness
make the solution of medical problems a very important part of the work
of parole. The most difficult of these is that of the girl's suffering from
venereal disease. In spite of apparent cure after long treatment in tne
institution the possibility of later development in such cases make extra
care in placing and constant watchfulness a necessity. The precaution
of putting these girls immediately under skilled medical supervision as
soon as they are paroled protects the community and insures the continued
good health of the girl,
6, Among the working principles of parole never to be lost sight of
is the long look ahemL Good parole work implies much more than
watchful care on the part of the officer* What is the girl going to be
and to do after she passes out of the care of the state? From the
beginning this should be borne m mind. Nothing should be done with
the girl w^hich does not look to her future. What does she need most to
hold her steadily to her purpose of being a good citizen after she has
formed that purpose? She must have the constant and sympathetic
encouragement of her visitor. She must be given hope and the incentive
of a gratified ambition if she has one within the bounds of good sense
and earning her living. The plan for her future must be her plan or
she will abandon it when she is free. Even if you make a much wiser
plan for her unless you can win her honest acceptance of your plan it
must be given up for hers. The best you can do then is to give her a
chance to test her own out before she passes out of your care. One of
the lessons parole officers have to remember is that the girl has to learn
from her own experience, sometimes from her own mistakes, to make her
choices wisely* Fhe learning of this lesson is worth the risk of many
failures*
This long look ahead is much complicated by the variety and dif-
ficulty of the problems presented by the girls. No thoughtful prognosis
of the girPs future can be made without careful observations of her
mental development. Not so long ago most girls who behaved badly,
who yielded to every impulse, or who Vk'^jt swayed this way or that by
their emotions, were called feebleminded — that happy dumping ground
of the social worker. The psychiatrists and psychologists in their in-
creasing comprehension of these problems, though they have not yet
determined upon treatment, have taught us the value of careful diagnosis,
and in some instances are able to advise methods of care. We at least
have learned that sometimes apparently wilful conduct the girl herself
is unable to control \ that intellect is not always the factor which gives
most trouble in the mental makeup of the individual. A girl wnth
'A
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154 DBLINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
average rntellectual capacity may have no emotional control or may be
the victim of her own impulses. The most hopeful feature is that this
greater comprehension, this combination of the experience of medical and
social specialists may eventually be able to prove to legislative bodies,
that there are certain individuals who are not feebleminded nor insane,
but who are equally dangerous to the public welfare and who must be
placed in custodial care. In the present overcrowded conditions of the
institutions for the feebleminded and the lack of institutions for the care
of these even more difficult girls, which include the defective delinquent
and the more dangerous of the psychopathic personalities, the future of
ji^SLgirls can be easily predicted, but not prevented.
Then there are the girls who present problems of character and
disposition: the high strung giris with bad tern per s» many of whom can
learn self-control ; the suggestible girls^ swung either way by the people
last with them ; the girls with babies ; the girls who steal ; the girl who
is unchaste; the girl with a grouch, who believes the world will only give
her what she demands. And we must never forget that any one of
them may be all of them.
What is the test of successful parole? The girl herself. We cannot ,
measure succe^ in exact terms, nor can we analyze the relative impor-
tance of the elements which compose it: the unexpected responses, the
sudden awakening of unsuspected powers, the new loyalties, the develop*
ment of the child into the woman. Nobody can standardize the parts
of a human character, nor assemble them, but '*by the grace of God" they
grow, while we stand by, opportunitists in character-building, ready to
encourage or to restrain, to sympathize with the joys and the sorrows
and most earnestly endeavoring to understand.
If the community would recognize its own handiwork and its own
Job, parole would not only be a larger part of its plan for the correction
of delinquency, but would be an accepted field of study for preventive
measures — measures which could be taken with little children before they
become delinquents.
"For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better
hope/' ^-__
INFORMAL DISCUSSION.
1. Mrs. Fannie French Morse, Sauk Center, Minn.: If there Is any
function standing out tn the institution, it is the individnal study of the indi-
vidual and dose personal contact. The superintendent of the institution and
her workers know the girl better than anyone else. I have some parole
workers who live in the institution and some who live outside. A very
marked difference is noticeable in the work of the two groups : the resident
parotc visitor has been in very close touch with the girl and knows her more
intimately.
2. B. M. J OS tad. State Probation Officer » Madison, Wis., asked for a
statement of principle as to whether the probationer should be informed
regarding his condition as determined by diagnosis, for example, supposing
he were feebleminded.
3. In making answer Miss Burleigh cautioned against taking the diag-
nosis made in the institution as i^nal.
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THB CAUSES OP DELtWQUBNCY — GLUBCK 155
4. Dr. Bernard Glueck, Ossimng, N, Y., said that while it might not ht
of any benefit to tell a feebleminded person that he was feebleminded, the
principle of taking a patient into one's confidence to the extent of telling him
the dangers and limitations confronting him was excellent. Dr. Glueck said
further that we all agree that probation is a very excellent remedy, and yet
every year more and more of us are anxious to find out why it does not
work, A probation officer or a judge who recommends probation for a
person just because he has to deal with a first offender ought to seek some
other occupation. The first essential is diagnosis, for if you make a diagnosis
correctly you can sometimes dispense with treatment. Probation is one of
the most patent factors in restoring individuals to normal life. But probation
is frequently a very bad remedy if blindly applied,
5, In her closing remarks, Jlftjj Burleigh said that probation, institu-
tional training and parole are only spokes in one wheel
THE CAUSES OF DELINQUENCY
Fim Report of Subcommittee. Bernard Glueck, M> Z)., Chmrmffn;
Director J Psychiatric Clinic, Sing Sing Prison, Osstning, N. Y,
The creation within the Division on Delinquents and Correction
of your Conference of a sub-committee on Causes of Deh'nquency adds
further proof to the clarity and breadth of social vision which dominates
your deliberations. At the same time it affords those of us who have
been working in this field of criminalistics a welcome opportunity to
exchange notes upon our findings and experiences with those of you
whose preoccupation has been with other phases of this common move-
ment for social hyg:iene and social control. Your committee^ it may be
confessed, found themselves from the first somewhat perplexed tn their
endeavors to decide upon the form this first annual report should take.
We were, of course, fully agreed concerning the central importance of
the subject of causation in criminology. Causation is the keystone of
the problem. It not only has its intrinsic theoretical value, but it affects
in a direct and decisive manner prognostication, treatment and preven-
tion, whenever a rational solution of the problem is attempted.
For the same reason, reform in procedure, no matter how aggressive
and well-intentioned, will at best be but a temporary expedient if it
ignores the question of causation. The object, therefore, of your com-
mittee ought to be clear enough. We should find no difficulty in defining
the direction in which our efforts might help to clarify the problem of
criminality. We might even proceed to sketch, in tentative outline, at
least, the manner in which a definition of causation may be rendered
eminently practical in the administration of the individual delinquent.
Such a practical definition should ultimately carry sufficiently dependable
information for the guidance of the judge in the original disposition of
a case, on the one hand, and, on the other, of the administrators of
reformatory^ and correctional institutions tn their endeavors to prepare
the individual inmate for a more ade<|uate adjustment to life in a free
community. The crystallization of experience and practice in the defini-
tion of causation in individual cases into principles of fairly wide applica-
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156 DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
tion should ultimately make possible the deve!opment of proved and
dependable criteria for prognosis.
Our aims are clear. The difficulty arises when we undertake to
specify the processes for assuring the attamment of these aims. In view
of this difficuity 5^our committee were particularly happy to accept the
invitation of Mrs, Hoddcr to meet at Franiingham, Mass., for a pre-
liminary discussion of methods and viewpoints.
This meeting of the committee, held on April 14th last, was at-
tended by the following members and guests: Dr. Bernard Glueck,
Chairman' Mrs. Jessie D. Hodder, Dr. William Healy, Dn Herman
r, Dr. V. v. Anderson, Dn Abraham Myersrjn, Dn Paul Wander,
Mn F. Leslie Hayford, Dn Elizabeth A. Sullivan, Dr. Catherine A.
Brannick, Dr. Edith R. Spaulding, Dr. Aupusta F. Bronner, Dr. Anne
Bingham, Miss Edith N. Burleigh, Mrs. Tess L, McKernon, Miss Inga
M. Johnson, Mtss Barbara V. Sanborn, secretary.
Study of Crime Cnusation versus Diagnosis of Individual Offenders
Those present were as^reed upon the importance, as a first step in
orientation, of a survey of what is being done in this country in the
matter of studying criminal behavior and its causes. It became evident
in the course of the discussion on this point that such diversity of method
as admittedly exists among the workers in this field carries with it the
danger of confusing the etiologic study of criminal behavior with the
mere definition of personality, of the assumption of a cause-and -effect
relationship where only coincidence exists.
Unsatisfactory as must be the status of methods w^hich permit such
extremely discrepant estimates of, say, the extent of feeblemindedness in
reformatory and penal institution populations as are reflected in the
current literature on the subject, the mischief caused by such inaccuracies
can never equal that involved in suspending the search for causation
when mental defect of some sort has been brought to light as a factor.
So grave a misconception through over-simplification of the problem
must inevitably lead to an under- estimation or even to a total blindness
for the many social-environmental factors which may, and frequently do,
play a significant, yea, a determining role in the causation of criminal
behavior even in pathological personalities. It also runs the danger of
seeing in original, native endowment the sole constitutional determinants
of behavior, and of failing to recognize the potency for continuous and
lasting modifications of original tendencies that reside in the very proc-
esses of life and adaptation to the outside world. The feebleminded in-
dividual only less than the normal is never quite the same after having
experienced, say, a prison sentence, as he was before. Since experience
modifies behavior and the springs of behavior, and since the modification
may have a pivotal significance in the causation of a given delinquent act
or career, the stopping short with the mere diagnosis of feeblemindedness
obviously misses an essential link in the chain.
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THB CAUSES OF DELINQUENCY — GLUECK 157
The recent illuniinating study by Dr. Bronner on Special Abilities
and DUabiUties furnishes impressive evidence that much still remains
unsaid when a diagnosis of feeblemindedness has been made. A study
of causation of crime, therefore, even in the individual case, involves
much more than a mere diagnosis of the oflEender. It demands a diagnosis
of the whole situation on the basis of dependable information concerning
behavior reactions, habits, mental attitudes, predilections and idiosyn-
crasies of the individual in his daily life.
Preliminary Outline for Field Study
Such infonnation can best be supplied through an intelligent and
painstaking field inquiry, supplemented whenever possible by continued
clinical observation within the institution. The laboratory examination,
particularly the type whose scope is restricted to the mere gauging of
intelligence grades by means of measuring scales, might be said to
FHDsse^ a value in the diagnosis of abnormal behavior similar to that
which the chemical estimation of the functional activity of the kidneys
might have in the diagnosis of Bright' s Disease, It has little to do with
a helpful understanding of behavior, nothing whatever, in many in-
stances^ with throwing light on the precise conditions that render be-
havior anti-social,
When we keep in mind still further the practical aspects of treat-
ment and adjustment which a diagnosis should bear, the mere estimation
of grade of intelligence must be of very limited value unless we restrict
our conception of adjustment to mere institutional segregation. The
committee believe that a case study should embrace as a minimum, at
least an attempt to define:
1st. The type of personality one has to deal with.
2nd, Any temporary or lasting grafts or inroads upon the in-
tegrity of the personality, whether these have their origin in some
constitutions! pathological process, or in some deleterious environ-
mental contacts. In other words, does one, for instance, merely
deal with an epileptic or does one have to do, in a given instance,
with an epileptic who is alcoholic and in whom the effects of alcohol,
acting upon an epileptic personality, are the determining factors in
the criminal act?
3rd. The relationship of the personality, as such, to the criminal
act, or criminal habitus, and
4th. The relation of the superimposed disintegrating process,
whether it be temporary or lasting, to the criminal act.
Such an approach ought to enable us to state, more or less
accurately,
1st, The type of administrative problem one has to deal with.
Is it exclusively or primarily a medical problem, as coming essen-
tially within the province of the physician, or is it a social problem,
that is to say, a problem the adequate solution of which demands
attention to some external crime-provoking situation? Is it a prob-
lem predominantly for judicial adjudication, free alike from indi-
vidual or sociologic pathological determinants, or is it, on the other
hand, a medico-custodial problem such as is presented, for instance,
by a segregable feebleminded individual?
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158 DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
2nd The significant or determining criminogenic factors in a
given case:
(a) Of an hereditary nature,
fb) Of a constitutional nature.
(c) Of an environmental nature.
(d) Of a behavior! s^tic nature.
3rd. On the basis of the foregoing^, an outline of treatment or
adjustment which would meet, as far as it is possible to meet them,
the individual's and the community's requirements in the case.
That notu^ithstanding the rapid growth of the study of causation
of delinquency, the above program still remains largely an ideal, with
the exception of the noteworthy work of Healy with the juvenile de-
linquent, and of the wort of others in cases involving clear psychotic
situations, should serve as a challenge rather than as a discouragement-
But progress toward this goal can be greatly accelerated and facilitated
if instead of working in isolation, more or less indifferent to the efforts
of others in the same field, and leaving clarification of principles to
chance, we endeavor to proceed along the lines of a consdously and
experimentally evolved program.
Nation-Wide Co-operation in Research
The first direction, therefore, along which the deliberations of your
sub-committee may furnish a much-needed impetus, is that of a better
understanding among the workers in this field concerning the nature
and aims of scientific effort in the study of delinquency. As a concrete
suggestion, your committee recommends that among its activities for the
ensuing year a careful study of the nature^ methods and scope of the
work now being done in the field of scientific inquiry into the causes of
delinquency, should occupy a prominent place. Such a survey would be
of inestimable value to all of us, and its accomplishment might be power-
fully assisted by the administrators and boards of institutions who arc
already alive to the importance of the problem of research, and are
willing to give their professional workers an opportunity to prepare
their material for publication*
It is an important feature and a real defect in the existing situation
that was well expressed in these words by one of the members of your
sub-committee: "It is most unfortunate that for the majority of people
actively interested in criminalistics, the pressure of the daily work is so
great that little time or energy remains for research/' Your committee
is of the opinion that much valuable information has already been ac-
cumulated along various lin^, and that the whole problem of causation
might be clarified to a considerable extent if this material were made
more generally accessible.
Two distinct lines of procedure might effectually bring this about.
First, the publication by the various investigators in this field of com-
plete, unabridged case studies, with full theoretical discusstoncs of the
problems involved in the given case; and, second, the publication of
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THE CAUSES OF DELINQUENCY — GLUECK 159
Standardized statistical data on large groups of cases studied. It is very
important that we agree on a more uniformly standardized method of
statistic^ presentation, and your committee recommends this as another
important undertaking among its future activities.
It would be regrettable if our insistance on more extensive pub-
lication of studies were to be taken to mean that we are either indifferent
to or not fully appreciative of the many excellent studies in American
criminalistics which have already come to light. Our point is that the
time has come when our studies should form the source of dependable
guiding principles for those who are charged with writing into statutes
our practical recommendations, and we are as yet largely unprepared to
convince them by furnishing an incontrovertible body of information.
We are not ready, as representatives of a specialized discipline in the
field of the social sciences, to present a well rounded-out program for
the action of legislatures, a program concerning which there is a con-
sensus of opinion, at least among ourselves. Our studies frequently lead
to significant criticisms of legal and social procedure, but they lack still
more frequently detailed constructive suggestions of a practically attain-
able nature. If we, as workers in this field, are to meet adequately the
challenge which our critical contributions have provoked, our material
must be organized with this aim in view.
,Point i)f Inception for Study of the Criminal
It is somewhat of a question as to where in the process of legal
administration the diagnostician should come in contact with the prisoner.
At what stage of the intricate procedure of the criminal law should the
delinquent be studied ? Those who are looking forward to the day when
the community's viewpoint toward the offender will find its inspiration
less in a moralistic or a dramatic interest and more in a broad humanistic
conception of adjustment and maladjustment, insist that the study of the
offender should be begun even before arraignment. They even go a step
further and insist that the study of abnormal behavior, or more specific-
ally of misbehavior, should be undertaken before the individual comes
in conflict with the law. There is much greater feasibility in this plan
than might be admitted to be the case at first thought. In fact, where
the school authorities are fully alive to the nature and objects of public
education, timid beginnings have already been made in the direction of
studying individuals during school life.
A certain degree of dependable predictability is already possible
wherever opportunity for the study and observation is offered in con-
nection with an adequate system of ungraded classes. With the growth
of a clearer appreciation on the part of the school teacher of the broader
social aspects of her work, such predictions will grow in reliability and
Will eventually justfy radical measures of control in the individual case.
The very excellent and progressive work that is being carried on
in some of our juvenile courts, points conclusively to the great economy
— material and human — to be effected by intelligent early diagnosis.
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160 DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
In not a few instances the cost of a trial, and what is more important,
the damaging violence to the youthful offender which is inherent in
contact with the criminal law, is obviated through such timely inter-
vention of the diagnostician.
It is problematic, however, whether the same procedure is applicable
to the adult oflEender, This is espedally true for large communities
where the daily arrests are altogether too numerous and the offenses very
often altogether too serious to make the diagnostician's interference be-
fore trial feasible or practicable in all cases.
This of course does not mean that gross and obvious cases of mental
disease or defect should be ignored, and permitted to be handled by the
courts in the routine manner. Police departments of the more enlight-
ened communities, even under present conditions, aim to divert these
obviously pathological cases to other than penal or correctional institu-
tions. Where they sadly fall down is in the less obvious cases, and oc-
casionally in cases which might be considered sufficiently obvious even
for a layman's detection. The judges of the courts of inferior jurisdic-
tion should, however, be ^iven an opportunity for a dependable diagnosis
before trial, at least in such cases as in their judgment require it. Some
compromise is possible here even with the present large number of ar-
rests, as the work in the municipal courts of several large communities
demonstrates*
But over and above the grossly and obviously pathological cases
there remains the enormous army of adult offenders, the ceaseless stream
of disturbers of the peace and the happiness of the community , whose
depredations will defy adequate control just so long as our attack on
the problem continues to be blind and unintelligent, and the individual
cases administered without an adequate diagnosis of causation and needs.
When should thTs diagnosis be made? Does the most practical
procedure lie in allowing the court to establish first the fact whether a
given individual is an object of social control ? That is to say, let the
courts decide whether or not the individual committed an act which
endangers the welfare and integrity of the community, and that some
steps therefore should be taken by the community to safeguard its in-
terest. But before any steps are taken, the diagnostican should outline
the situation and guide the procedure into the most promising channels.
Should the convicted offender be diagnosed while tinder temporary de-
tention, and should final disposition of the case be based on this?
Plan of fFork for Ensuing Year
Alt the above are important questions to us if we desire to guide
and infiuencc procedure. Is ft not justifiable to expect that a closer co-
operation among the workers In the various branches of applied crim-
inalistics in the matter of evaluating their data and of bringing these
before the public, might lead to some agreement and enlightened action
on these important questions? Aside from the immediate practical value
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THE CAUSES OF DELINQUENCY — GLUECK
161
of such a policy of co-operation in the matter of publication, the growth
of criminalistics as an organized branch of science depends upon it.
Radical improvement in procedure all along the line will come into
existence just as soon as the workers in the field of criminology and
penal administration come to look upon their work as a profession and
approach their tasks with the integrity, serious-mindedness and dignity
which go with training and preparation for specialized service.
But where are students to find the opportunity for training? Is
our knowledge concerning this subject sufficiently organized to enable
us to undertake the teaching of criminology? What is the scope of a
science of criminology? From what sources might such a science de-
velop? The demands for the teaching of the subject are bceoming more
pressing daily. The socialization of legal procedure and of penal and
reformatory processes in particular, is attracting a constantly growing
aggressive group of social workers to this field and they demand in-
formation. Should those who work with the living sources of criminal
behavior undertake the task of organizing this information ?
Your sub-committee have been in existence only a short time and
have had no opportunity thus far to organize their efforts in these direc-
tions, but in conclusion, beg leave to propose the following program as
a tentative outline of their labors for the ensuing year:
1st. A survey of the facilities for criminojpgical research and ob-
servation afforded in connection with penal, correctional and reformatory
institutions, in connection with courts, probation and police departments,
and in connection with universities and professional schools for social
workers.
2nd. A study of aims and methods conscientiously pursued by each
of such research agencies, especially their co-operation or correlation with
practical administrative processes, and the utilization for scientific and
edtjcational purposes.
3rd. A survey of official opinion respecting the desirability of
cnminological studies as an aid to the intelligent administration of the
criminal laws, especially of the opinion of police commissioners, judges,
prosecuting attorneys, probation and parole agencies, wardens, super-
intendents, and directors of institutions for delinquents.
4th. An inquiry into the organization of existing efforts directed
toward the prevention of crime with a view to determine the theoretical
and fact basis underlying such efforts.
5th. A study of methods of presentation of data in criminological
research, both with reference to individual case studies, and with refer-
ence to statistical information on large groups.
To secure the maximum participation on the part of the members
of the sub-committee in this proposed scheme of inquiry, it is recom-
mended that the present make-up of this committee be continued for a
year, and that the chairman of the same be authorized to extend mem-
bership on the committee to such additional persons as may be needed
to carry the above program into full effect.
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162 DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
jt *
SCHOOLS AND DELINQUENCY
Catherine Brannkk, M* D., Psychologist^ Reformatory for Women,
Framingham^ Mass*
The aim of this paper Is not at all an ambitious one — it seeks to
make but a single point, namely, that the most profitable time to study
aberrant personality is during school life* It is admitted that the
majority of delinquent careers begin during youth — it is here contended
that the delinquent tendencies appear even earlier in the child*
Those of us who work within the institution with what one might
call the finished product in delinquency, know how frequently we have
to throw up our hands in the matter of treatment, and almost as often
tn the matter of diagnosis. The institution has to take the individual
*'as is,'* so to speak, and "as is^' he must be diagnosed, though the original
personality may be pretty well obscured by years of bad habit of attitude
and reaction. It is most difficult at this stage, and sometimes impossible,
to determine what part should be assigned to defective constitution in
these social failures, and what part to defective environment and fixed
habit. And even when the diagnosis has been laboriously and imperfectly
made, we have to admit that for many, no essential transformation of the
nature can he attained*
At the Massachusetts Reformatory for Women, where we have
girls and women ranging in age from 17 to 60 years, with a record of
previous known arrests ranging from no arrest to more than sixty, we
are continually faced with the question, *'at what time in this woman's
life might effective study of her personality have been made and treat-
ment given?" We ask the question of ourselves, after careful study of
her histor>s and frequently we ask it, with appropriate modifications, of
the woman herself. Neither of us can answer it very satisfactorily —
neither of us can see quite straight so far away from beginnings. The
older women are apt to sum things up by conceding that as they are
today, so they were in lesser degree as children* *^Oh, I've been in trouble
all my lifef "I never amounted to much in school or anywhere else,"
they say. In the case of the younger girls, however, whose school life
is more accessible, the number who give a definite history of school
failure, either in conduct or scholarship, is striking* Yet none of these
girls came into actual conflict with the law until adolescence was fairly
well advanced.
Even without any figures on the subject, it seems quite reasonable
to expect that tendencies ivhich in the adult manifest themselves in
repeated offences against the law, should appear in the child. Surely
the traits of the instinctively anti-social individual may be recognized
in marketd degree in the child, and in lesser degree a child's lack of
response to educational measures and a continual tendency to relapse
to characteristic conduct disturbance, are significant.
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SCHOOLS AND DELINQUENCY — BRANNICK 163
Special Study Made
In an effort to locate beginnings of deliquent tendencies in the
individual, a study was made of the school histories of delinquent girls
under 17 years committed to a reformatory school within the last four
jears. These histories are much more reliable, because of the youth
of the girls, than the histories of the majority of the women sent to
us at the reformatory, whose school period is so remote.
Three hundred consecutive admissions were covered in this study.
Only the school histories were considered and the psychological examina-
tion» in the few cases in which one was made. There was no attempt
to relate the form of school failure to the particular type of delinquency
for which the girl was committed, nor to weigh environmental against
constitutional factors. The aim was simply to 'find out how many of
these girls, delinquent to the point of being conmiitted by court, were
school failures in the sphere of either scholarship or conduct. These
records were not gathered for a special purpose, they simply occur as
summaries of the school histories of the delinquent girls made in the
routine of the individual investigation.
Of the 300, 230, or over 76 per cent, were more or less retarded in
their studies. 175, or 58 per cent, showed conduct disturbance of some
form>
In the retarded group, 35 per cent of the whole were three
or more years behind the average child who is graduated from the
grammar school between 14 and 15 years. Twenty-one per cent showed
a retardation of two to three years; 19 per cent were retarded one to
two years.
In ten of the cases, the grade reached was not given, but of these
ten three had been diagnosed as feebleminded by psychological examina-
tion; six more were described as "dull and backward" by their teachers;
in the case of one only, no mention of scholarship was made, simply a
description of troublesome conduct was given.
Only sixty out of the 300, 20 per cent, were reported as normally
advanced in school studies.
Of the conduct failures noted ninty-six, 32 per cent of the whole,
were reported as truant — thirty-six of these being described as chronic
truants. Other forms of conduct disturbance described were many —
many of them being associated with truancy:
Violent temper, noted in seventeen cases.
Stealing in school, in twenty-three cases.
Stubborn, obstinate, defiant, in twenty cases.
Obscene in speech and action, in eleven cases.
Writing obscene notes, in twelve cases.
An immoral influence, teaching others, in nine cases.
Incorrigible or unmanageable, in nine cases.
General poor conduct was noted in forty-four cases.
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164 DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
The cases described as of general poor conduct arc those in which
the bad conduct is not specifically described^ a.s In these school summaries:
Gradtiated when lb yean 10 month*. SchoUr^hip fair; can duct uiu^tif fac-
tory^ Teacbm domsidered her mecitaNy normal; they made ffequent rtportft to
her mather of unsaliifactory conduct on the ttretit stad in the ichool room, and
were politely informed they could mind their own business.
(G) In 191S diimi^tcd for irregubrity; woi then in Grade 4, at tbe age of
II yean ]Q monthi; thii wat her lecond dismissal from school. Scholarhip mud
ConducU as well ai attendance, was of lowest order,
A separate study of the scholarship was made in the 125 cases in
which no conduct disturbance was reported. Seventy-seven ^ or 65 per
cent, of these were from two to five years retarded, and only thirteent or
n per centj were normally advanced in grade* Eighteen or the group
were described by the teachers as ''mentally deficient," twenty-one more
as "dull and backward"; eight more were diagnosed as mentally defective
by psychological examinlation.
As shown by these records, the early history of these delinquent
girls is apparently a history of school failure in a majority of the cases,
76 per cent in some degree in scholarship, 58 per cent in conduct* These
are significant facts, when one considers the close relation between mental
defect and the production of crime, as established at the other end of
delinquency, by study of the criminal repeater; and the frequency of the
unstable constitution, with emotional and volitional defects, in the same
class.
Normality Compared With School Advancement
A closer analysis of these histories brings out some interesting points.
It appears that normal or nearly normal advancement in grade, as
noted in the school records, does not always mean average intelligence;
there is frequent reference to '*ptomotion on account of age rather than
scholarship/' and even an impression on the teacher's part of actual
mental defect in children normally j^raded. Here are two cases:
{1) Began school at 7; at H wa*; in grade 7* Teacher say* was promoted
on account of age rather than good sc hoi an hi]?. Liked tchool, etpeciAJIj fond
of nature Bludy; CKcellent in drawing and paintings alway» very troubleaomc
because of habit oi api^ropriating things of others; obscene notet found in her
desk written by men. Wa« luspended because of her stealing and the obscene
writing.
{■) Wbi graduated at H (entered hifh school but did not continue)* No
repetition of graded. Highest in arithmetic Considered by teacheri mentally
deficient, peculiar, irresponsible, erratic, s\l\y. Lacking in self -control. Began
at 10 to seek men and jjoys; guilty of ejchibiticinism first at 11 years* (This j{irJ
was diagnosed as a case of borderline mental defect by two different eKiminers*
vfry weak on the moral side; custodial care recommended.)
On the other hand retardation does not always mean intellectual
defect as in this instance, which is one of many in the group:
Reached Afth grade at l& years (not promoted, but transferred became ot
■ge)* Two years in second grade « 3 in third* E in fourth; irregular attendance
and many transfera. Did not rank high in any study; memory poor, best in
arithmetic* Antasonistic and stubborn; had disturbing effect on other students;
very quarrelsome with others; was found choking a girl in a oiuarrel. Truant
tinee third grade at 10 years. Outbursts of temper at home and In school — vould
double up her fi.st and throw thing?i, crsyeholoi^ical ejtamination showed no in-
tellectual dffect in this girf.)
The same is true in this case in which the teacher apparently made
no question of the fact that a brij>ht pupil was two or three years
retarded ;
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SCHOOLS AND DBLINQUENCY — BRANNICK
165
Promoted to 7th grade at 14, when she left school to go to work. Regular
aitendancti. Conduct excellent. Scholarship very satisfactory. Stood highest
in arithmetic. Seventy-six per cent lowest m any study. (This girl had oeen
grosfily unchaste during her school course, apparently unknown to her teachers.)
Bad conduct is not by any means necessarily associated with retarda-
tion or mental dullness; this is seen in the high percentage of retardation
and probable mental defect among the group in which no bad conduct
was recorded. On the contrary, good scholars are frequently bad actors,
as in this case:
Alw:k]rs a good scholar, but gave trouble to all her teachers after entering
grammar ichool. Would disturb the class whenever she wished some excitement
and vf&^ insolent and defiant. Expelled twice and taken back on aunt's inter-
ctHion. In 9th grade expelled for insolence to principal and not allowed to
return. Next fall started evening school, but was unruly here and not allowed
to continue.
Conduct disturbances are often taken for indications of intellectual
defect :
Reached 7th grade in public school. Scholarship very poor, did acceptable
work m spelling only; teacher thought her of very low mentality. In school
she needed constant watching; had to be seated away from other children; could
not he trusted with the simplest tools. Was expelled by the principal for threat-
rninf? to "smash the teacher's face." (No psychological or mental examination was
made in the case of this girl during her school course, but several were made
after Rbe became delinquent to the point of requiring court action. By these she
is described variously as "alert and active mentally, "above the average," "type
of moral imbecile.")
On the other hand again, there often is no apparent recognition
by the teadier of very probable mental defect, however poor the scholar-
ship, if the child gives no trouble in the sphere of conduct.
Similarity of Earlier and Later Careers
The records make interesting reading for one who deals with the
adult delinquent. At the reformatory we recognize three main types of
repeaters — the feebleminded, those defective in the emotional or volitional
field, and the group who are habitual offenders from over-social, rather
than anti-social instincts. Many of the school records of these delinquent
gtrls sound like early editions of these three groups. The screaming,
biting, smashing type that is returned to us at the reformatory all too
frequently has her prototype in these young histories, as well as the
untrained, undisciplined feebleminded repeater. The backward, friendly,
nice little girl frequently described in these records, seems like a descrip-
tion of the youth of many of our over-social group, whose characterists of
affection and generosity and loyalty have been exercised along wrong
lines.
The following summaries might easily have been the school histories
of many of our adult group :
(1) Repeated second and fourth grades; irregular in attendance. Kept at
bi?me to work. Low standing in studies, considered subnormal mentally; some
days brighter than others. Reached grade 6 at IZl/z years. Had falsified age to
go to work. Came to school physically exhausted. Conduct satisfactory. Was
shy, hungry for affection, responsitre, poorly dressed and conscious of it; honest
and truthful. Liked by teachers. (Many of our dull, lovable, generous, over-
social drunken repeaters might have had just such a history.)
(2) Was in grade 6 when site left school at 13 years; repeated first grade.
Trouhlchi>me in school. In grade 5 disobeyed teacher, and in trying to settle
the difficulty, bit the teachers arm. A fighter in school; had terrific fits of
temper. fThe Reformatory has had many of her kind, grown up.)
(3) Began school at 5 years. Repeated first, second and third grades. Pro
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166 DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
mated to fourth grade only because of ugt and lise. Attended trrefularly'
wai freaucntly sent home because so dirty. Rating unsatii factory. Considered
by teacnert ^mentally deficient." Reached grade 4 at 14. ririt attended
fwrochial ichool, and at IS years was refused readmission there because of bad
reputation. In grades one and two was well disposed and quite dependable.
In grade A 3 and 4 was vulgar, profane, wrote obscene notes and on the walU;
was silly, lazy, reticent, untruthful. In grade 4 began to drcsi up. Leader of
In grades 3 and 4 was vulgar, profane, wrote obscene notes and on the walls;
was silly, lazy, reticent, untruthful. In grade 4 began to dress up. Leader of
gang of younger girls. (No psychological examination was recorded in the case
of this girJ, nut her school history is typical of the untrained feeble mindrd
^irl with fair innate characteristics other than the purely intetlectujj, as describc^d
in her good conduct in the lower grades.)
When we are trying at the reformatory to teach the A B C's of
self-control to the screaming, smashing, psychopathic wo man ^ wc can-
not help but ask how far her innate tendencies might have been modified
by early recognition of her type and educational methods applied in time.
When we are trying to reshape or overcome long established habit in the
feebleminded woman who has been recognized as such for the first time
as an adult J we ask again how far her ability to adjust socially might have
been modified by deliberate fostering of any socially favorable charac*
teristics during the pliable, habit-forming age.
The over-social group is rather a large one at our reformatory. A*
found, they are for the most part classed as intellectually dull or sub-
normal ^ and show a marked lack of self-confidence and self-esteem, They
are the women who say, **I was never much good m school or any-
where else." They are as a group very likeable worn en ^ from the stand-
point of the institution, and model prisoners. It is often a question
with us how far the women acquired in school the "what's the use"
attitude, how far the habit of failure in school influenced their failure
in life* The knowledge acquired in school is much less important than
the habits formed, and the attitude toward life in relation to one self.
Dullness does not consist alone in failure to digest school subjects; k
involves a slowness or inability to adjust socially as well as in school,
A habit of failure acquired in school is quite likely to follow the child
into working life; some measure of faith in ourselves is indispensible —
nothing succeeds like success in school as elsewhere.
Summary and Conclusion
To sum up, these records show that tendencies that lead to de-
linquency certainly appeared in the school life of these delinquent girli.
The histories show an apparent inability on the part of the school to
interpret the failure of the children, and sometimes even to recognise
the failure. Conduct disturbance, like disease, may be classified accord-
ing to its origin as environmental or constitutional, and in either instance
some modification can be brought about by appropriate treatment. The
same classification might be applied to school retardation — it is well
known that psychopathic tendencies may so interfere with the acquire-
ment/of school knowledge through the ordinary channels, as to simulate
intellectual defect. Indeed, there may be as many causes for school
retardation as there are degrees of potentiality within the normal limits.
There is already a very fair sense of social responsibility in the
school in relation to physical health — it should be as strong in relation
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THE PUBUC DEFENDER — TALBOT 167
to the mental health of the child. Individual study of every school
failure should be made, whether in scholarship or conduct, to dcteTminc
the probable basis of failure*
INFORMAL DISCUSSION
1. A cordial invitation was ^iven by Colonel Sedgwick Rice, swperin*
tendent of the United States Disciplinary Bar racks ^ at Leavenworth, to this
division to visit his institution.
2. F. M. Bennett, vice-president, Children's Service BureaUj Vounps-
town, Ohio, told about the work of the clinic at Youngstown in connection
with the public schools. Four experts there are examining subnormal school
children. There is cooperation between the schools, the judge of the Juvenile
court and the city police court. Physical examinations are given and the
homes of the backward children are studied. In one large school there is
special examination and training of children, J. M. Hansen, secretary of the
Community Service Society, is in charge of the work.
3. Capt. R. M. Chambers^ M. C, officer in charge, department of psy-
chiatry and sociology. United States Disciplinary Barracks, Leavenworth,
gave a brief account of the method of handling prisoners. He stated that
many of the cases are accidental offenders, in many instances deserters,
although there are also some of the worst criminals. No man who has a
sentence of less than one year can be released on parole. A man with a
sentence of more than a year is eligible for parole after serving one-half
of his time. Two months before the time for him to be released on parole
he makes application to the Parole Board, (This board consists of a parole
officer, the Commandant of the Barracks and the Secretary of War.) A
complete history is then taken of the man, with a detailed account of
every year of his Ufe. Men who are mentioned in this account and promi-
nent men of cities mentioned are written to and questionnaires are sent
to them. An estimate is then made of the man from all the material at
hand, including psychiatric and sociological data. This information is all
sent to the Commandant and then passed upon by him and also by the
Secretary of War. When the man is released on parole, he is put under
tJ^e care of a first friend and adviser who has agreed to furnish him with
employment at a stipulated initial compensation. Men are carefully in-
structed before released. The parole certificate outlines all regulations.
These rules are explained to htm. He must make a report on the date of
his arrival and after that every thirty days. This method has worked suc-
cessfully for three years, and it is interesting to note that less than six per
cent of the men paroled have violated their parole.
THE PUBLIC DEFENDER— AN AID TO A SQUARE DEAL
IN THE COURTS
Homer Talbot, Secretary, Municipal Reference Department, University
of Kansas
That every person accused of crime should have the right to a fair
trial IS a principle universally accepted. The right to a full and fair
trial to every defendant is essential to the safety of society, and to public
confidence in the institutions of government and the administration of
criminal law. The major premise, then, is accepted. Every accused
person is entitled^ of rights to a full and fair trial.
We now face the question : As conditions exist, does every defend-
ant actually receive a full and fair trial? To any one of open mind
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168 DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTrON
and humane spirit, and possessing any save the narrowest experience, the
answer thunders in one's ears — No !
Authorities and Cases Cited
Is there equality — substantial equality— before the law? Let a
distinguished jurist, former President of the United States, be heard on
the question. Ex-President Taft says:
We must make it so that the poor man will bave as nearljr as possible an equal
opportunity in litigating as the nch man, and under prcBcnt conditions, ashamed
as we mav be of it, this is not the fact — Quoted in Ma^er C. Giridman, Tk*
Public Defender, page 48,
To call up illustrations very well known to Kansas Citians: The
J. S. Chicks and the Doctor Hydes — men of wealth, able to employ the
most capable legal and political talent, receive a full and fair trial.
Possibly more. But what shall be said of the hundreds of unknown
prisoners, without money or influence to command the services of astute
legal and political attorneys of this great city?
I quote from the statement made four years ago by a Kansas City
man who in his duties had come close in contact with conditions in the
jails and criminal court of this county, Mn C. E, Waters:
In the prosecuting attorney's office there is no cognizance taken of the fact
that all the men who come before the prosecutor arc not criminala, hut mch man
is considered guilty; and every method known to the lawyer is ustd to convey
that impression to the jury. If a man does not plead guilty the attrntion gf the ,
jury is called to the criminal look on his face, hfi criminal parentage. The aweat- '
box methods of ancient times are used to obtain a confession. Nothing is [eft
undone to convict every man who is charged with a violation of the law — except
those who have political friends.
Still quoting from Mr. Waters:
Within the last few months a dozen or more coaes have hrtn rtversed by the
supreme court because of the questions asked the accuaed bv tht proieeutor. In
several reversed decisions the supreme court plainly Btatf'd that this ia the reason
the decision of the lower court is reversed. Otic opinion handed down hy the
higher court charged that "railroad methods" were used to obtain a convictian.
Mr. Waters was asked why the prosecutor was anxious to convict^
and he answered:
In order to make a record of sending more men tn the penitentiary than
his predecessor. (Kansas City Times, March 11, 10 14 J
Lest any hearer obtain the impression that the unfair conditions
referred to are not general, or prevail only in the west^ let us go cast
again, and examine the problem in New York. The testimony of Mr.
Justice Howard, of the appelate division of the New York supreme court,
will now be heard :
My experience as a district attorney and on the bench of the supreme court
leads me to concur fully in the contention that there should be a public defender
to look after the rights of the poor. The creation of such an office would be not
only justice, but economy. The poor man cast into priaont no Tiiatt«r how inno-
cent, is helpless and hopeless. He cannot cry out to justice^ for nobody hears
his cry. He is the prey of the policeman, the captive of the jatltr, the butt of
other prisoners, the plaything of young lawyers. He lb immured beyond human
reach. His protestations of innocence are drowned by the ribald jeers of hardened
criminals. He walks to the court house fettered to brutes and degenerates. He
is browbeaten and threatened by his captors until his heart sinks in despair.
As he is arraigned before the judge, he stares about tbe court-room, but he sees
no friend — no hope.
Every technicality and delay and defense and avenue of escape known to
the cunning of lawyers are available to the rich man indicted for crime. The
poor man under indictment is permitted to go through the fornis and appearances
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THB PUBLIC DEFENDBR — ^TALBOT 169
of a trial; but such a trial is only a mockery. He daret not assert his innocence
for fear of a double sentence at the end ot a trial — a trial which he knows will
he 4 travesty. Therefore he pleads guilty and disappears from human view.
And this is the triumph of civilization — a triumph for those who have money;
ignommy for those who have not.
Justice Howard concludes:
The provision for a public defender should be imbedded in our statutes.
No law could be more economical — none more humane.
Again, to be specific, consider the case of Alfred Schwitofsky. The
defendant was sent to Sing Sing prison in New York for a term of
twenty years, under a conviction for burglary and felonious assault. In
June, 1914, at a public hearing before the state board of parole, there
were revealed facts showing how the lawyers assigned to his defease had
practically ignored him, and how, on account of. his lack of means and
competent defense, he had been unable to produce a single witness in his
behalf. Finally, from the office of the district attorney who had prose-
cuted the man, the assistant district attorney who represented the state
said:
The district attorney had been convinced, by reason of newly discovered evi*
dence, that Schwitofsky was not guilty of felonious assault, upon which charge
ten years of his twenty years' sentence was based, and the district attorney was
recomfnending to the governor that this ten years' sentence be revoked by a
parole or pardon.
On September 18, 1916, the governor of New York commuted
Schwitofsky*s sentence.
Remedies Offered
If it be admitted, now, that there is necessiTy for extending more
adequate legal assistance to accused persons who are poor than is now
given, what remedial program may be adopted? The mental inert and
the sneering cynic will, of course, do nothing to aid.
Perhaps the first response may come from some one who concedes
the existence of injustice in the existing situation, but who, knowing the
high and unselfish character of many American lawyers, believes the
problem may be solved by the bar associations furnishing a corps of
reputable attorneys who would volunteer their services as counsel fot
accused persons unable to employ legal assistance.
The difficulty with this proposal as a solution is two-fold — as is
pointed out by Mayer C. Goldman in his excellent work on The Public
Defender (page 78) :
Reputable and busy lawyers do not care to volunteer their services for
this UEtproductive work, and the judges are hot inclined to assign them — except
in rare {nitances and in capital cases. It is unfair to expect a lawyer to devote
bis time and skill to such gratuitous service.
As a second proposed meeting of the problem it has been suggested
that legal aid societies and other charitable organizations may render the
service of defending accused indigent persons. The student of the
problem is at once ready and glad to give full recognition of the very
excellent work which has been done by these associations. As a substi-
tute for the public defender — publicly paid and provided for — the
charity organization defender is not a substitute acceptable to society.
The accused person is entitled as a matter of right — and not charity —
to a full and fair defense.
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170 DELINQUENTS AND CORRECTION
Possibly some one may have in mind a third proposal as to a means
of relief, "Let the trial judge be empowered to fix compensation to
counsel in each case, such compensation to be publicly paid," is suggested.
The plan meets two difficulties, and is inadequate. Unless fees of
considerable amount are given to the attorneys assigned to the defense,
the compensation will not be sufficient to attract the services of compe-
tent counsel.
On the other hand, if fees of sufficient amount are given in mdi-
vidual cases to induce able law}'ers to render proper defense, the aggre*
gate of the amounts paid will probably be considerably more than the
sum necessary to provide a public defender — and, in addition, many of
the benefits in having the services of a regularly employed officer for
the work will be lost.
The Public Defender Movement
This, then, brings us to the question of the desirability of employ-
ing a public defender. Without devoting further attention to the prin-
ciples underlying the proposal, let us examine the facts as they have to
do with the public defender movement For this summary Mr» Mayer
C< Goldman, of the New York bar, has placed us all under obligations.
In 1913, the people of Los Angeles County^ California, adopted a
home rule charter which included a provision for the appointment of a
public defender. On lanuary 6, 1914, Walton J» Wood was appointed
to the office. In June' of the next year a separate public defender was
appointed for the police courts of Los Angeles. During the same year
a public defender was appointed for Portland, Oregon; and similar
officers were chosen for Douglas County (Omaha), Nebraska, and the
city of Columbus, Ohio. In 1917, the Minnesota legislature passed an
act providing for the office of public defender in counties having a popu-
lation of 300,000 or more — that is, Minneapolis (Chapter 496^ Public
Laws 1917.)
As to the results of the creation of the office of public defender,
reference may fairly be made to the experience of Los Angeles^ — the
first county to provide for the new public service. The facts show that
the judges of every one of the four departments of the superior court of
Los Angeles which handle criminal cases endorse and commend the
functions and activities of the public defendcn Likewise, the district
attorney himself praises the new department and its administration. The
testimony of Judge Frank R. Willis of Los Angeles, one of the judges
occupied exclusively with the conduct of criminal court trials, is repre-
sentative and significant:
The work of the public defender and bii repreienUtiTet in the crimiDil
defAftment of the court has been of an eminently utisf actor jr character. I find
that itiitead of tbe ordinary method of deftuij ants' attorn cyt Ln trying lo Kcune
an acqEULttal by any or all kinds of means > legitimate or otherwiie* the public
defender hai uniformly endeavored to present the facts of each case thorouEhLy
iQ the jury^ and tried to secure only such a verdict as the facts of the case
would warrant.
It has been s great saying to the county in the matter of expense, and has
usually been productive of a more fair and impartial administration of justice
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PROHIBITION AND DELINQUENCY — DISCUSSION 171
thMB. the method formerlv employed of appoiiiting attomejrt nnfamiliar with crim-
itiAl Uvir to represent the defendants' interests. I am well satisfied with the
rfficicpcy of the office and of the necessity for its continuance, as a matter of
economy and justice. (From a letter under date of June 2, 1914.)
Both on principle and on the facts, it is earnestly submitted that the
public defender cause has proved its case. In order that there may be a
fairer deal in the courts; in order that every person accused — no matter
how poor — may have a full and fair trial; and in order that public confi-
dence in our government and our system of criminal law and administra-
tion may be merited and given in a larger degree than at the present time,
let each one of us render service in carrying the message of the new
gospel to its acceptance throughout America! In so doing we shall aid
in making democracy safe for the world.
INFORMAL DISCUSSION
1. F. Emory Lyon, Superintendent Central Howard Association, Chi-
cago, referred to his introduction of a resolution in the American Institute
of Crinfiinal Law and Criminology to the effect that courts in all cotmties
should have public defenders equal in ability with prosecuting officials. He
■aid that in states where provision was made of a fee of $50 for the defense
of cases, the money was usually spent upon lawyers who were not worth
even that much. "The organization of a group of volunteer defenders, how-
ever, is a step in advance of that. It has worked out very well in Chicago,
where we have about one hundred lawyers who take turns and give a day
now and then in the boys' court and taice up each case and defend the boy
and carry it through, but it is more particularly for the preliminary hearing.
It is simply- out of the question for the man who is without funds and
Without friends, without reference even to unnecessary technicalities, to
secure the ordinary, average defense. The ignorant defendant hasn't the
least idea of court proceedings and his own rights. The old o£Fender, in
court before, knows the ropes, knows how to take advantage and has learned
some of his rights, but the green fellow who comes in from the country
and gets in bad, who hasn't been in court before, hasn't the slightest idea
'what to do or not to do, and he needs advice and counsel all the way
along. The greatest danger is bound to be that the public defender may play
into the hands of the prosecution and after getting the facts in confidence
from the defendant if so disposed may turn them over to the prosecutor."
2. In answer to the question by the chairman, Mr. Talbot replied that
he believed the selection of adimintstrative officers is best provided for by
appointment, although it would be necessary to make adjustment to llie re-
quirements of the various state constitutions and statutes.
3. John J. Sonsteby, attorney, United Garment Workers of America,
Chicago, said: I am probably the only one here who has acted as a public
defender at any time, except of course not in a professional capacity. In
Chicago^ as Mr. Lyon has mentioned, we have in the boys* branch of the
Municipal court of Chicago a Public Defenders' Association, entirely volun-
tary, to the work of which each member gives one day every two or
three months. We have a list of lawyers who have become members of
the association and we assign a certain day to each member — the member
knows the day in advance — ^and prepares accordingly. Of course, in the boys'
cases comparatively few are really trials in the sense of the ordinary criminal
trial, because where the offense is serious, such as hold-ups, there is nothing
to do but hold them for the grand jury. We are not paid for this service
but we do not mind giving a day once in a long while. I have not made
up my mind whether we ought to have one public defender paid by the
county or whatever body pays him. If we had such a person it would
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172 DELmQUK^fTS AND CORJIECTION
necessitate having a. corps of investigators, an office force, and would become
part of the political machinery. There might be trading between the office
of the prosecuting attorney and the public defender in order that each
office might be taken care of financially. In certain states the state pays
the attorney something, not enough to pay the full expense of handling
the case. Let the judges make up a list of the lawyers they want to use
for that kind of work. It isn't wise to take any lawyer to defend a criminal;
some of the very best attorneys would be absolutely useless in trying the
ordinary criminal case. They do not know tiie procedure, except theoret-
ically. At one time I handled for the United Garment Workers of America
more than 1,000 cases, arising from a strike, everything from disorderly
conduct to murder, in the course of three months. I knew every judge,
prosecuting attorney, and their peculiarities, and one must know the pe-
culiarities of the judge to properly try the case and give the defendant a
"fair show/* as we call it. I am inclined to think that the best way of
handling it at the present time is to have the judges make up a list of law-
yers in the community capable of handling the work, some for the bigger
cases and some for the smaller cases ■ then let the county board or whatever
body pays them, pay them for the service and you will gel better service*
1 have seen lawyers appointed to defend men, and where there was no fee
they have done it in a v^ry perfunctory way. I am a little uncertain of the
public defender w^ho devotes his entire time to that kind of work; he h
liable to become too mechanical in his defense.
4. Throughout the remainder of the discussion speakers emphasized
the importance of heartj^ cooperation of the legal profession and the willing-
ness of leading law]^ers to undertake to defend accused persons gratis. A
parallel and distinctions were drawn between medical and !egal service in
this respect. Cases of improper treatment of persons charged with crime
were cited, delegates participating were: Mary E. Richmond, New York;
Mrs. Katherine van Wyck, Milwaukee; Anna G. Williams, Denver; Mrs.
Ophelia L, Amigh, Birmingham; Mrs. Martha A. Slaten, Carthage, Mo.
5. A/r, Talbot said in conclusion : There is need in most counties
of size in the United States for additional legal assistance to poor persons
who are accused^with the exception of a very few counties^ which have
been so fortunate as to have some persons who are voluntarily looking after
the needs of the unfortunate and accused. Such counties are to be con-
gratulated, but they are very, very few. If there is need of additional legal
assistance to poor persons accused of crime, shall there be a public defender
for each individual case, appointed by the judge for that case: or shall
there be a regularly paid and provided for public defender? That, as 1
see it, is tiic issue. It seems to me as we look carefully at the matter there
can be little question but that from the standpoint of justice, efficiency, and
economy, the public defender regularly provided for is the more desirable.
On these three points^ the system of the public defender is advocated i
first, it is more just than any other remedial system which has been sug-
gested ; second, it is more efficient; third, it is more economical to the
people. As a necessity for society as a whole, the plan should be adopted.
PROHIBITION AND DELINQUENCY
This was an entirely in Formal discussion.
1. The first speaker, Afrs. Alice Adams Fulton, secretary of the State
Board of Charities and Corrections of Colorado, Denver, spoke of the
experience of the state penitentiary of that state. Colorado "went dry" in
the fall of 1014. The population of the state penitentiary has steadily di-
minished as a results The State Board of Pardons find that between fifty
and seventy -five per cent of all crimes which they review have been com-
mitted as a result, directly or indirectly, of the liquor traffic. Now when
friends of convicts appear to plead for their parole they always state:
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PROHIBITION AND DELINQUENCY — ^DISCUSSION 173
"T am sure, now that the state is dry, we will never have a repetition of
this crime." In half the counties of the state the jails have not had any
prisoners during the last two years, since the state went dry.
2. Afrj, L. O, MiddUton of Kansas City, representing the National
W. C- T. U., spoke of the campaign for ratification of the national prohibition
amendment and reviewed the effect of alcohol upon the human body. She
spoke of its effect from the moral standpoint and made a plea for the
building up of self-control and self-restraint.
3_. /, K. Codding, warden of the State Penitentiary, Lansing, Kansas,
said in part: The dearth of criminal statistics makes the subject of intoxi-
cating liquor and crime rather a hard one to handle. In determining the
causes of crime, and the reason why men commit offenses, we are to a great
extent dependent on the man himself, and he is not always truthful.
In a personal examination of over four thousand criminals the past few
years, seventy-seven per cent of them have said that intoxicants were the
direct or indirect cause of their downfall. This is about the average given
by others who have taken their statistics from the men themselves. In Kan-
sas about 12 to 16 per cent of our men violate their paroles, and 90 per cent
of the parole violations are on account of intoxicating liquors.
Vital statistics of 1916 show that Kansas had 4.6 homicides per 100,000;
Missouri, 7.6; California, 14.2. Kansas is prohibition, Missouri is half dry,
and California pretty wet. The United States census report of 1910 shows
that Massachusetts had 933 commitments per 100,000 population; Missouri
had 'Jes, and Kansas 192; Massachusetts wet, Missouri half wet, Kansas dry.
We have had prohibition in our state for a great many years; not the
absolute kind that we desired, but it was prohibition, nevertheless. The open
.saloon with its invitations, with its machinery for making criminals, and at
the same time providing alibis, packing juries, suborning witnesses, reaching
courts and juries, has been for years lacking in our state. For the past two
years, however, we have commenced to have real prohibition, under the bone
dry law passed by our legislature. This makes the possession of liquor an
offense, and does away with the pool-hall, livrry stable, back-alley kind of
joint, and a great decrease of crime is apparent in our state. We have over
200 less men in our penitentiary now than we had two years ago.
One-half of the prisoners in the Kansas penitentiary and about 60 per
cent in the state reformatories were never residents of our state, but are
the product of the saloon states, north and east. We find that the going
dry of Oklahoma, Colorado and Nebraska has materially aided in decreasing
our criminal population. We are looking forward to the time when we will
have nation-wide prohibition, and then we know, from past experience, that
crlrne will still decrease. Perhaps the time will come when we can abolish
penitentiaries and institutions of like kind; at least, we can so reduce our
criminal population that we can feel we are on the road, not only in the
cure of the criminal but the cure of crime as well.
4. President Robert A. Woods spoke especially of the objection to
prohibition, that will create serious resentment among habitual drinkers.
Hxperience at the Norfolk (Mass.) State Hospitals with individuals con-
firms the experience of the prohibition cities showing that, when the whole
atmosphere is changed, there is little or no expression of resentment. He
mentioned recent scientific evidence of injury caused by even small amounts
of alcohoL The campaign for ratification in Massachusetts showed a sur-
prising sentiment for prohibition an-ong all sorts of people.
5. Monte H. Pasley, chief probation officer, Spokane, Wash., held, from
experience in Missouri and Washington, that prohibition actually prohibits.
The jails of Washington, he said, had become almost depopulated since
prohibition went into effect. At the jail in Spokane County it has been
necessary to keep a corps of three matrons for care of the women alone,
bnt within six months after the adoption of prohibition there was no need
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1 74 DELTICQUEN'ra AND CORRECTION
for any matron at the jail. Tliere has been a remarkable decrease in
juvenile deUnquency*
6. Leroy A. H albert, general superintendent, Board of Public Welfare^
Kansas City : Kansas ,City, Kansas has a population of lOO^OOD. Kansas
City, Missouri, 300, Ono. Therefore, we should have by normal comparison
three times as many arrests and criminals here as there. They sent in a
year 22 people from Wyandotte county to the state penitentiary; we should
have had 66 from Jackson county, but we had actually T'SO. The fact is,
that the proportion of people in the bawdyhouses in Kansas City, Kansas,
and Kansas City* Missouri, is about as grave a disparagement m compari-
son as the number of criminals. Arrests, if 1 remember correctly, were
about 3,000 in KansaSn and that would give us 9,000 here, but we bad
57,000. The juvenile statistics were about the same. When the joints were
closed in Kansas City, Kansas, it was thought it would be an injury to the
business men. After thty were effectively closed by Mr* Trickett (the man
who invented the idea of closing them by injunction), there were, of course^
some places vacant, but within a very short time the Mercantile Club got
out bulletins advertising the valuable effects of having the joints all closed
that were sent all over the country for the purpose of advising capitalists
that because they did not have any saloons in Kansas City, Kansas^ manu-
facturers could go there and have employees that wouldn't be drunk every
Saturday night. Some days there was not a single person convicted in the
police court in Kansas City, Kansas, and in the state of Kansas whole
counties passed a year without any persons arrested. Abolition of crime?
We cannot have a miJlenium in a day, but if by abolition of crime you mean
a state of society where wc can control people by persuasion and do not
have to arrest anyone, that is another term. That is a long way off, but it
is an absolutely realizable thing, that can be realized in many a county and
sections all over this nation. We won't have to have the machinery of jatls.
There are many counties in Kansas where the jails have not had an oc-
cupant in a whole year. A commissioner from Manitoba told me they
closed four out of seven provincial jails after the province became dry.
People here from Colorado tell you they have closed up one wing and
one building after another in the state penitentiary because they did not
have to have prisoners there since it became dry,
7. Major Erttsi Sims, Salvation Army, Winnepcg, gave testimony to
the fact that under "bone dry" conditions existing in his region there is
practically no trouble with returning soldiers, indeed, none with the public
in general.
8. Nat Spencer, secretary of the Church Federation of Kansas City,
spoke of the experience of the Kansas City Society for the Suppression of
Commercial Vice with the liquor question, and the relation between drink
and sexual immorality. Ineffective national control and the politically gov-
erned police department of Kansas City were described as the scat of the great
danger that exists there with respct to incoming troops.
9. Aside from the discussion of relationships between the operation
of prohibition laws and delinquency that have been noted in the informal
discussion, considerable was said by speakers about the effect of drink upon
social conditions in j^eneral and many arguments presented for the adop-
tion of national prohibition,
10. Oiherj, whose names are not included m the foregoing account
who participated in the informal discussion were: George M. Bates, Tulsa,
Okla. ; Robert C, Dexter, Montreal ; Mrs. Rosa M. Webb, Kansas City, Kan-
sas; D. F, Shirk, Topeka. and the chairman, Mrs. Jessie D. Hodder.
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HEALTH .
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DIVISION COMMm^EE— 1917-1918
Acting Chairman
Mary K, Lent,
Associate Secretary, National Organiaalion for Public Health Nursings
New York.
Acting Secretary
Mrs, Bessie Ammerman Haasts,
Educational Secretary, National Orgatiiiation for Public Health Nursing,
New York.
Jacob BflUkopf Kansaa City
Arthur H. Burnett...*.,,,,. Tgronto
J. S. Crumtamc, M. D Topeka
A* E. Dowling, M. D. , New Orleans
T^wrencc Flicks M, D .Philadelphia
EHna L. Foley, R. N.. Chicajto
Edna G. Utnry... ......Indianapolis
Anne C. Jatnine. ...... ., Sacramento
Jamea M innkk. Chicafio
Irwin H. Nci!. M. D Norfolk. Mass.
K.ilherine Tucker. ..,,.,.. Philadck^hia
Frederick IT. Whitin . Nuw York
Unsly K. %Villiams. M. D Albany
T. H. Landis, M. D. . ■ ..Xincinnatj
tlaveti Eracrsont M. D. New York
m
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i
TRANSACTIONS
At the meeting of the National Conference at Kansas City, May
15-22, I9I8, one hundred and eighteen delegates registered as members
of this Division, The Division Committee, as appointed at the 1917
Conference at Pittsburgh, is shown on the opposite page. Four meet-
ings for discussion were held as follows:
PACES
May 16, 3:30 p.m., *'War Time Developments in Publjc
Health Nursing'' 187
May 17, 8:15 p- m., General Session: "Public Health in
War Time'* ^ - , 179
May 20, 11:00 a. m,, **The Housing Program in War
Time'* , , , _ 194
May 21, 11:00 a.m., "Health Insurance^ Pensions and the
Problem of Inheritance", . , 389
The session on May 17th was a joint session with the Division on
Children. 7 he session on May 21st was a joint session with the Divi-
sion on Industrial and Economic Problems,
On May 16, at 12:45 p, m,, the Division met at luncheon. At
1 :45 a business session was held at which Miss Mary E. Lent, of New
York J vice-chairman of the Division, presided j and Mrs. Bessie A. Haa^ts
of New York acted as secretary.
After a statement of the relationship of the discussion of health
questions to other subjects in the National Conference, and of the com-
position of the group interested in this question in the National Con-
ference, by various delegates present, it was voted that a committee of
three be appointed by the chair to frame a suggestive list of members
for the Division Committee and also of a chairman for the Committee,
these nominations to be reported and acted upon at a subsequent meet-
ing. This committee as appointed consisted of Mr. George N el bach ^
Miss Ida M. Cannon and Mrs. Haasis.
On May 16th, at 10 p, m., an adjourned meeting of the Division
on Health was held, at which the Committee on Nominations, through
its chairman, Mrs, Haasis, made a report recommending chairman and
members of the Divi^^ion Committee. The report w^as accepted and
returned to the committee with recommendations for additional names,
bringing the membership up to 24, the final report to be presented at
an adjourned meeting next day. The members present wished to go
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on record as favoring an arrangement of the program for each year's
conference in such a way that each group of interests represented in the
Health Division should have one paper presenting a national program.
On May 17thj at 3:15 p, m., an adjourned meeting of the Divi-
sion on Health was held, at which the final report of the Nominating
Committee was accepted, embodying the names shown fn Part B, sec 3,
appendix of this volume.
The meeting then turned its attention to the advisability of organ-
izing a national body of hospital social workers. The previous hi^^tory
of the movement was described and reasons for and against taking such
a step during war times. The meeting adjourned as a meeting of the
Health Division, and went into executive session as an organizing
committee of hospital social workers,
(Signed) MARY E. LENT, Chairman.
BESSIE A. HAASIS, Secretary,
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PUBLIC HEALTH IN WARTIME
Claude C Pierce^ M. D.^ Senior Surgeouj U. S. Public Healfh Service
The protection of the public health; the prevention of communicable
diseases; the conservation of human life arc at all times one of the impor-
tant functions of the national, state and local authorities. During war*
time these problems of disease suppression and control take on an added
significance and the measures to be carried out must of necessity be some*
what modified. What is to be done must be done quickly in order to
conserve the man power for the army and to protect the civilian workers
so essential for the rapid development of an effective military organixa"
tion. Ordinarily I under peace conditions^ the urgency of action is not
so imperative ; nor is the completeness of details so important in carrying
out remedial measures for the control of disease- producing conditions^ as
these both become immediately upon the declaration of war.
When our country entered this great world strife the Surgeon Gen-
eral of the United States Public Health Service at once directed trained
sanitary officers to examine into conditions around the sites selected by
the War Department for the location of cantonments, with a view of
making recommendations for sanitary control of the extra-cantonment
zones. After the survey had been made and the extent of the work to
be accomplished was determined — indeed, in many cases contemporane-
ously with this preliminary work — trained officers were assigned to these
extra-can ton m en t areas, to have supervision over the sanitary work that
had to be done. Public health officers so detailed always work in har-
monious co-operation with the state, county and municipal health authori-
ties, and in that way the activities of all interested are correlated and
directed as one organization. This system prevents reduplication and
makes impossible the shifting of responsibility. The United States Public
Health Service has organized and is operating more than thirty of these
co-operative, special sanitary units for the control of conditions affecting
the public health in extra-cantonment zones, many of these units being
larger in personnel and expenditures than an ordinary State Board of
Health, The scope of the work is great because an effort is being made
to control the spread of disease among the civil population in territory
adjacent to army camps, not only as a military necessity in protecting the
soldiers from infection, but to increase the efficiency of the entire citizen-
ship.
The work that has been done at Little Rock, Arkansas, in the Camp
Pike Extra Cantonment Zone is similar to the work done at all the
other Public Health Service stations, so that by giving some of the details
of the work at Little Rock, an idea may be conveyed regarding the varied
activities, and from the results already obtained, the immense value of
the work may be judged-
179
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180 HEALTH
Communicable Diseases
One of the first tasks undertaken was to secure the reporting of
communicable diseases by local physicians, as provided by the state laws.
It is a recognized principle of preventive medicine that the health officer
must know when, where and under what conditions cases of communica-
ble diseases are occurring. By persistent eflFort, the co-operation of the
doctors in reporting cases has been secured, and the usual precautionary
measures are carried out for the quarantine of cases, regulation of con-
tacts, discovery of carriers and their control, the carrying out of vacci-
nation and other prophylactic measures directed against the further
spread of preventable diseases. The information obtained regarding dis-
ease prevalence in the locality is transmitted daily to the medical officers
of the army at the nearby camp, so that they may know just what to
guard against in their efforts to keep the soldiers free from disease.
By having this information promptly, and carrying out necessary sani-
tary precautions, the prevention or control of epidemic diseases has
been made possible.
Health of School Children
Medical inspection of school children is one of the most important
health functions and has received proper attention in the Service extra-
cantonment work. School children are the great reservoir of commu-
nicable diseases and the control of these diseases among children of school
age through active medical inspectors, trained nurses and intelligent co-
operation of teachers can accomplish much. The physical defects found
have been in many cases corrected through clinic treatment, where the
parents were unable to have their own physician. A free dental clinic
for school children was likewise established and has done much work
through the loyalty of patriotic dentists who donate their services* The
lecturers for a special course in trained nursing have been supplied by
the Service in the high school, an average attendance of sixty-four high
school girls receiving this important instruction.
Control of Places Where Food and Drink Are Sold
In accordance with the authority given in a military order issued
at Division Headquarters at Camp Pike, no men in uniform are allowed
to patronize any hotel, restaurant, soda fountain or cafe, or other place
where food or drink is sold, unless such places have a permit card issued
by the United States Public Health Service. In accordance with this
military order, a detailed sanitary inspection was made of each place of
this character in the cities of Little Rock and North Little Rock (or
Argenta), and a physical examination was made of each employee en-
gaged in such establishments. During the preliminary physical exami-
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PUBLIC HEALTH IM WAR TIME — PIERCE 181
nation^ 1|743 employees of hotels, restaurants, etc, were examined
and of this number 92 were rejected and barred from further employ-
ment on account of bein^ aflfected with syphilis, gonorrhea or tuberculosis
fn a commimicable ?tage. Each new employee is required to undergo a
physical examination prior to his engagement, and at the time of the
physical examination each employee is vaccinated against smallpox and
against typhoid fever. In the sanitary survey of hotel?, restaurants, soda
fountains, etc, 135 premises were examined. Of these only 57 received
a first class permit; 28 received second class permits; 19 received third
class permits and 31 places were refused permits as places where men
in uniform could be served. Many of these establishments receiving
second and third class ratings have since made the necessary improve-
ments to receive a higher rating. The great importance of supervising
employees of places where food and drink is sold is shown by the finding,
upon a preliminary examination, nearly one hundred employees that had
dangerous communicable diseases (n infectious stages.
Control of Barbers and Manicurists
The same military order applying to places where food and drink
are sold applies to patronage by soldiers of barbers and manicurists.
All persons so engaged in Little Rock and North Little Rock were given
a physical examination, and of 293 examined, 22 were rejected on account
of dangerous communicable diseases in an infectious stage. Regulations
were promulgated and posted in each barber shop requiring the steriliza-
tion of implements and of utensils, towels, etc.
City Sanitary Improvements
On account of Little Rock being the city to which all scjldiers from
Camp Pike necessarily come for recreation and business transactions, the
existing insanitary conditions in the city required considerable attention.
Many surface welb were in use^ the water from which was polluted
and dangerous^ and a great many premises were not connected with
sewers. A large number of stables afforded fly breeding foci, and the
many miles of open ditches throughout the city were prolific breeding
places for mosquitoes. A system of inspection of all premises throughout
the city was carried on ; notices to correct insanitary conditions were
served upon property owners, and a very material improvement has taken
place. Tabulation of the work accomplished during the period from
July 1 to December 51, 1917, is as follows:
Niimbtr df w*lls permsmently closed ...fili4
Number of premises connc^ctcrd with city water. ..<.... ,lfiO
Kumber of premises conntcttd with sewer filS
l^umber of unitary privies installed (outside sewered area). 371
Number of stabka making improvtcnents to prevent Ry breeding. .,. .43 S
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1^ HEALTH
This work is still in progress and during the past thirty days the
work has been accelerated through placarding insanitary premises, warn-
ing against their use as human habitation until the nccessaiy improve-
ments have been completed.
Rural Survey
Officers of the Public Health Service were detailed by the Surgeon
General for 'the purpose of carrying on a campaign of education and
sanitary improvement throughout the rural territory adjacent to the can-
tonment. In this work each home was visited by a trained officer and
record made of the existing sanitary conditions. Recommendations were
given for the correction of all insanitary conditions found existing, such
as the method of disposal of hnman excreta, the protection of natural
water supply, prevention of mosquito breeding and general information
for the prevention of communicable diseases. Thousands of copies of
public health bulletins were placed in th^e homes where sufficient
interest was created to warrant the use of printed matter, and from time
to time the residents of particular communities were assembled and given
plain talks on sanitation, A placard was placed in each home, giving
important facts in regard to the transmission of typhoid fever and
malaria, the two preventable diseases most prevalent in this community.
A general systematic vaccination against smallpox and tj^phoid fever
was carried on in order to lessen the number of persons susceptible to
these two diseases, "Follow-up" work from time to time made it possible
to determine' the result of this educational campaign and considerably
more than half of the homes visited made some eflort to improve their
sanitary environment* The work accomplished at Little Rock in this
demonstration of rural sanitation carried on during the four months,
August to November, inclusive, w^as as follows:
NuTnher of b{>mC!i visited . . . ^ , ^ ^ , , . . ^ ^ ^ h. ^ , . « . ^ « » 4|S04
Number of tclmoU VL»iti:d , . , ^ , . « . lOT
Number of public addresses nvcn .....*.......*,.,»,.,,,,* 16fi
Number of persona vacdnat^^d against smaUpox ^ ^ » 9^1^419
Number of do^ca anti-typboid vnccint ffivrn * , . .37»8&3
Sanitary Engineering
The department of sanitar>" engineering of the Public Health Service
has devoted most of its activities to the control of mosquito breeding by
carr>'ing out ditching, draining and oiling of pools and streams. An
area covering more than seventy-five square miles, including the ci tj- of
Little Rock, North Little Rock, Fore Roots, Camp Pike and adjacent
and intervening territory, ha<i been thoroughly covered by systematic antt-
mosquito control measures. On account of the rocky nature of the soil
in this vicinity, permanent drainage work Is extremely expensive, and
therefore a considerable amount of maintenance work must be carried
an at all time^. During the past season the amount of new and main-
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PUBLIC HEALTH IN WAR TIME — PIERCE 183
tenance work for the control of mosquito breeding has been very exten-
sivcj but the amount expended has been an investment of great value.
The work around Little Rock was divided into three areas, briefly de-
scribed as follows:
(a) The area including the city of Little Rock and adjacent terri-
tory. In this area 54 miles of streams have been ditched and 55 acres
of swampy land drained, and 4,300 gallons of oil was used.
(b) The area including the city of North Little Rock (or Argenta),
Camp Pike and intervening territory. In this area 56 miles of streams
were ditched and 7,100 gallons of oil used.
(c) The area north of Camp Pike used as a training camp. In this
area 4154 miles of stream were cleared of brush and 1,540 gallons of
oil used.
The cost of the total amount of work outlined above was $31,929.44.
The question naturally arises as to what results were obtained and
whether or not these results were worth the amount expended. The
object of this work was to protect the soldiers of Camp Pike from pos-
sible malaria infection, and this was actually accomplished and no cases
of malaria were contracted at the Camp, either during its construction,
nor since its occupancy. The effects of the anti-mosquito work upon the
health of the civil population in the districts under control are not so
easily estimated, since the reporting of cases of malaria was not enforced
prior to the taking over of the work by the Public Health Service.
However, in the city of Little Rock, records of deaths are considered
reasonably correct and complete. Reference to these records show that
there have been the following number of deaths from malaria within the
city since the year 1910;
Year JfllO 68 deaths
Year 1911 86 deaths
Year 1912 48 deaths
Year 1913 40 deaths
Year 1914 47 deaths
Year 1916 62 deaths
Year 191G 41 death*
Year 1917 16 deaths
Notwithstanding the large increase in population of the city during
1917, an increase in a type of population more or less susceptible to
malaria, there were 26 less deaths from malaria than in any of the pre-
vious eight years. Now, the season of the year when malaria is most
prevalent is from July to October. The United States Public Health
Service started its mosquito eradication campaign July 1, 1917. There-
fore the effect of the work should make itself manifest during the four
summer months — ^July to October, 1917. References to the death rec-
ords of the city of Little Rock show that the total number of deaths
for the four months, July to October, inclusive, by years, was as follows:
Year 1910 46 deaUia
Year 1911 47 dcaUis
Year 1912 80 deaths
Year 1918 28 deaths
Year 1914 84 deaths
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184 HEALTH
Year 1015 88 de«t1ift
Yemr 191« SO d<atti
Year 1017 IS dcatbi
We find here a decrease of 25 deaths from malaria in the city of
Little Rock during the summer of 1917, compared with the deaths
occurring in 1916; yet, the population of the city increased at least 25
per cent. It is shown, therefore, that within the city of Little Rock
alone, at least 25 lives were saved and 2,500 persons who would have,
under ordinary conditions, suffered malaria during the summer of 1917,
did not so suffer. This estimate of 2,500 persons is made on the assump-
tion that for each death from malaria, there are 100 cases of the disease.
If we may assume that the same saving of lives and sickness occurred
over the whole area controlled, as in the city of Little Rock, then there
were a total of 33 lives saved and 3,300 persons prevented from suffer-
ing with malaria fever. These results were accomplished by the expendi-
ture of approximately $32,000, which amounted to an annual per capita
expense of 40 cents.
Control of Venereal Diseases
The venereal diseases have not been included with the ordinary com-
municable diseases for the reason that in most states they were not report*
able until since war has been declared.
As a war measure, a nation-wide movement is now well launched
to carry on a vigorous campaign to control these venereal infections that
are undermining our civilization, polluting our manhood and woman-
hood, and penalizing succeeding generations. Arkansas was one of the
first states to promulgate regulations for their control after the request
was made upon all states last winter by the Government, and as their
law is similar to those of other states, its provisions will be briefly out-
lined. It provides that: "It is the duty of every physician in the state,
and of every superintendent of a hospital, or dispensary, to report
promptly to the State Board of Health the occurrence of cases of these
diseases." The reporting of these diseases will be done by number only,
the physician retaining in his private, professional^ secret files the name
and address of the patient. Therefore, such reports as are made to the
State Board of Health are confidential and no publicity will attach itself
to the patient under ordinary conditions. However, the physician report-
ing by number only, will naturally have to assume the responsibility for
the patient observing the necessary precautions to prevent the spread
of the disease.
It is the duty of all physicians under this new law, now m force,
to keep the patient under observation until a non in fettive stage of the
disease is reached. In order to accomplish this, each new case presenting
himself must be questioned in regard to whether some other physician
has been previously consulted, and if so, this physician must be notified.
In this way, no case that once comes under the observation of a reputable
physician can secure his release until he is non-infective, for if a patient
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PUBLIC HBALTH IN WAR TIME — PIERCB 185
fails to return for treatment, and notice from another physician is not
received that he now has the case under observation, the physician first
reporting the case must turn in the naipe and address to the State Board
of Health. Also, the names of those patients that fail to observe precau-
tions to prevent the spread of infections must be reported to the State
Board. This authority will then see that the negligent patient receives
proper treatment, and if necessary, his quarantine or isolation may be
ordered*
Immoral women found by physicians to have these infections must
have the house in which they live placarded, just as in the case of small-
pox, unless she can be removed to some hospital or other place where
the treatment of the case can be continued and the spread of the disease
prevented.
In order that patients may know just what precautions are neces-
sary, a circular of instruction has been prepared and has been furnished
to all physicians for distribution to their patients. These circulars also
contain advice regarding the proper measures to observe to hasten the
cure and prevent the transmission to innocent women and children.
A wise provision of the law requires every druggist who sells remedies
for these diseases to report the name and address of the purchaser to the
State Board of Health once each week. These persons are visited and
informed that druggists are not competent to treat such diseases, nor
are patients able to treat themselves with patent medicines, and each such
patient will be placed under the care of a reputable physician or taken
care of through a clinic or institution.
Parents or guardians are made responsible under the law for the
compliance of minors with the regulations to prevent the spread of infec-
tion. One common custom of past practice — sending the patient on to
some other town or state — ^will be controlled imder the new law, for
the reason that infected persons will require a removal permit before
they can change their residence, and also a permit from the health authori-
ties having jurisdiction at the new location before residence can be
changed* Failure to secure either of these permits makes the patient
guilty of a violation of the law.
The period of control of these diseases is determined by definite regu-
lations and shall continue during the time the disease is in an infectious
stage. Persons afiFected with these diseases are prohibited from engaging
in certain occupations, the nature of which is such that their infection
is likely to be borne to others.
Now, there are no provisions of these regulations that are unreason-
able or illegal. No publicity will attend any case where reasonable co-
operation is secured from the patient. Where a patient insists upon a
supposed right to spread loathsome diseases to others, a spread which is
declared unlawful by the State Legislature, such a patient, either man or
woman, must be controlled by the state, because the right of unbridled
license cannot be recognized even by our free democracy. Under this
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186 HEALTH
State Board of Health regulation, the Public Health Service is securing
the reporting of venereal diseases in two counties of the state where
cantonments arc located, and arc controlling infected persons, A free
clinic for treatment and an isolation ward for hospitalization of infected
women has been established and are operating satisfactorily* The United
States Public Health Service is co-operating with State Boards of Health
throughout the entire United States for the control of these diseases,
and while this has been started as a part of the program, Pubh'c Health
in Wartime, there is not a doubt but that intelligent public opinion will
demand and secure its continuation after the war is ended. All of the san-
itary work that is being done as auxiliary war work has a greater signifi-
cance than the actual saving of lives, and the resulting prosperity. The
great potential value of the work is the education millions of people are
receiving in regard to what can be accomplished toward the elimination of
disease.
This war will be followed by a reconstructive era unprecedented in
history. For the past four years, and who knows for how many more
years, but little has been, or will be done, throughout Europe and North
America to maintain and repair the machinery of civilization, except
where it has a bearing upon the winning of the war. When the world
has been freed from the menace of the unspeakable Hun, a great and
new era of progress, prosperity and creative industry will keep us busy
for years. Then will the survivors of the war reap the full rewards of
the strenuous efforts that are now being made to conserve the nation's
man power.
From the army will come millions of men that have been taught
that cleanliness of person and surroundings are health creating agencies;
men that will know the value of exercise and plain, nourishing food ; will
know that alcohol and vice undermine the physical and mental develop-
ment ; that will know much about the methods of transmission of diseases
by insect carriers and direct contact.
From the localities in which vast demonstrations of the value of
community sanitation have been carried out will come the support that
is needed to secure adequate funds for purchasing public health ; will come
the desire to have proper laws governing housing of those of moderate
means; the elimination of the slums, the dive and the brothel, because
these act as foci from which diseases spread, and as foci for those forces
that undermine the resisting power of the nation. Therefore, the future
will bring a new era of enthusiasm for sanitation. The health department
appropriations will be larger; the various political units throughout our
country at least will demand full-time, competent, trained health officers
and public health nurses; and intelligent control of all communicable
diseases, no matter what their nature, so that a world made a decent
place in which to live, through the sacrifice of millions of human lives,
may also be freed from the menace of preventable diseases.
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WAR TIME DEVELOPMENTS IN NURSING— HA ASIS 187
WARTIME DEVELOPMENTS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
NURSING
Infroductary Address by Mrs, Bessie A merman Haash, Educational
Secretary of the National Organization for Public Health
Nursing J New York*
During the past year Public Health Nursing has experienced a
revolutionar}- change in its standing with the public. The necessity
heretofore has been for the most part to create a demand ffir such
service, while mfw it is facing such an enormous demand that the
creation of a supply is the acute problem, llie factors which have
stimulated the demand have been as follows:
1. The findings of the drafts of large numbers of physical defects
which the surgeons tell us might have been corrected or prevented
during school ape. This has created, the count r>^ over, a great interest
in and demand for school medical inspection and school nursing,
2. The Children's Year program of the Federal Children's Bu-
reaUj needing for its fulfillment large numbers of nurses to do both
general community work and specialized Infant welfare nursing.
3. Greatly increased public interest in conservation of health,
demand of Red Cross Home Semce workers for public health nurslngi
and of industries for nurses to look after the health of employees.
4. Establishment of public health nursing units in connection
with sanitary control of civilians in zones outside the cantonments, under
the direction of the United States Public Health Service,
5. Calls for large numbers of public health nurses to inauf^urate
and carry on tuberculosis cUnics and work with patients in their homes
in France, also infant welfare work in Pans and throughout France.
Public health nurses are having pressure brought to bear on them
from e%'ery side for service. Most of them are doing vcr>^ valu-
able work in their own jobs, which while lackinj^ in fjlamour, is really
indispensable in protecting the health and welfare of the population
in this countr>^ on which depends the welfare of our soldiers in the
trenches. The demand of friends and strangers that they do the more
spectacular service is hard to deny, and they need every bit of moral
support in staying where they are. The Red Cross itself has recognized
this and is about to give a service badge or chevron to all of its en-
rolled nurses who are engaged in indisrH^nsable service at home, either in
public health work, teaching in training schools, or other vital nursing
work. This in no sense means exemption, and if conditions abroad
become more acute, the balance will have to change, and some of even
these workers u^ill have to be sent to actual work in military hospitals*
We must help create public sentiment to honor the nurses who are do-
ing the less spectacular thing, but are none the less rendering real war
service in sticking to their home jobs, to make the country and its fami-
lies effective in supporting its military forces.
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188 HHALTR
Systematic effort has been made also during the past year to
increase the supply of nurses^ particularly of public health nurses, but
as this takes long periods of time, it has not kept pace with the demand/
The Committee on Nursing of the Council of National Defense
has systematically sought to stimulate the entrance of women into
training schools by public meetings, pamphlets, letters, newspaper pub-
licity and the raising of scholarship funds, and has been successful in
recruiting in this year's entering classes about 20 per cent more than
the average number entering year by year,
The Vassar Training Camp is making an especial appeal to the
graduates of the past ten years of our women's colleges, offering them
an intensive course of theoretical instruction covering three months,
after which they will be received into the best training schools of the
country to complete their training courses in t%vo years. This is going
to bring into the profession the fine type of women who will be needed
more than ever in the work of reconstruction and the already estab-
lished branches of nursing work, after the war, and is offering to each
such recruit the opportunity of "releasing a nurse for the war" within
a very few months. The full number of 500 that can be admitted is
already almost entirely made up» Other universities are making similar
arrangements, though in some instances accepting women of less than
college training, notably Western Reserve, University of Iowa and
University of Califorinia.
The already established eight and four months courses for training
public health nurses are being aided by the raising of special schol-
arship funds, the Red Cross having subsidised two, in Boston and New
York, each of which can thus prepare at least 60 nurses a year in addi-
tion to their usual numbers, for the public health field. The inclusion
of theory and practice in training schools where competent instruction
in such subjects is available is being extended and stimulated with the
result that several hospitals in Boston, New York City, Richmond and
elsewhere, are releasing their senior students to take four months courses
as part of their three years' training, and many others are releasing
them for two months^ experience in social service departments or for
field vi'ork with some public health organization.
To meet the war emergency, a special short term of field work and
intensive instruction, covering ten weeks, has been planned by the
National Organization for Public Health Nursing, which will assist
in its presentation in those states where a state supervisor of public
health nursinp^ is or will be appointed, to carefully follow the workers
after they are placed in their communities, to continue their instruction
and to standardize their work. It is hoped that this state supervision will
hold over from the war emergency period and become an integral part
of the plan of every state for its health protection, just as public health
nursing has been recognized as an integral part of community healthy
protection by the United States Public Health Service.
In conclusion, two great needs are apparent.
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SANITARY CONDITIONS ABOUT MILITARY CAMPS — LBNT 189
1, To recognize the value of public health nursing as a war
necessity here at home, and to create sentiment against depleting
the ranks of those experienced or specially prepared for it, in recruiting
for army hospital service.
2. To help maintain the standards of training for public health
nursing, and as an aid to this, to persuade communities who wish such
nurses to wait till they can get a trained worker, to subsidize if neces-
sary the training of their workers, and to help maintain trained super-
vision of the ivork after it is established.
SANITARY CONDITIONS ABOUT MILITARY
CAMPS AND PARTS PLAYED BY THE
PUBLIC HEALTH NURSE
Mary E, Lent, Director of Nursing in Extra Cantonment Zones,
United States Public Health Service, Washington
The United States Public Health Service has taken charge of
sanitary conditions in zones surrounding the camps, for the better pro-
tection of the health of the troops in the camps. In each of these zones
the officer sent by the service seeks to co-ordinate all existing health
activities, and by various means to supplement such service as already
exists by the employment of other workers — bacteriologists, sanitary in-
spectors, and nurses, supported by public or private funds, so as to secure
a well rounded health protection service. This includes such work as the
inspection of all stores handling food and their employees, and while this
has been primarily for the protection of the health of the troops, it has
also set a new standard which is appreciated and taken advantage of
by the civilian population. The elimination of the fly and mosquito
breeding groups, the examination of school children for communicable
diseases, and many other functions, have thus had a double usefulness.
Example of Service
It may be of interest to note just how and why one of these zones
was established. In the spring and summer of 1917, a typhoid epidemic
was in full sway in a certain town. The local health authorities were
unable to check it. This town being adjacent to a big army post, they
sent out the **S. O. S." In August, 1917, the first government health
officer arrived, and a short time after, the American Red Cross had a
unit in the field, and work started immediately. Officially each of these
zones are known as an Extra Cantonment Zone and Red Cross Sani-
tary Unit. The personnel of this particular zone consisted of: one
medical officer in charge, one assistant surgeon, three United States
Public Health Service nurses, three Red Cross nurses, one sanitary
engineer, one chief sanitary inspector, one bacteriologist, one assistant,
one milk Inspector, three sanitary inspectors, one clerk, and one stenog-
rapher. Two Ford cars were donated by Henry Ford through the Red
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190 HBALTH
Cross for the use of the nurses and the sanitary inspectors, and the city
bought one for the use of the doctor. One of the first things done was
to inoculate the people with typhoid serum free of charge; other physi-
cians in the city offered their services m helping inoculate, and in a short
time over 6,000 people were inoculated.
Each case of typhoid fever in the city was visited by one of the
nurses, and before each patient was released from quarantine a speci-
men of stool was examined by the bacteriologist to be sure that he or
she was not a typhoid germ carrier. For over two months the doctor
and the nurses were on the go; working hours were not counted, visits
were made night and day, but results began to show; new cases were
dwindling — only a few new ones a day, where a month before it was
nothing to have 10 or 12 in one day. Since October only five cases
have been reported; two of them had just come to town and the othen^
had not been inoculated.
In September smallpox broke out. Steps were immediately taken
to prevent an epidemic. The order went out that all school children
in the city not having a certificate of vaccination must be vaccinated
or stay out of school for 25 days. Doctors and nurses went to the schools
and vaccinated, free of charge; the result was that 94 per cent of the
school children were vaccinated, and a lar^e per cent of grown people*
The same preventatives arc taken when any other contagious disease
is reported.
Every child in the schools of city and county has been examined
and a histor>^ of the diseases they have had is kept in the office; also
a record of any defects, and notification cards of these are sent to
their parents, so that they may he treated by their family physicians.
Every home in the county outside of the city has been visited by
United States Public Health Service nurses, giving instructions on
health and the care of babies. All sanitary conditions of the zone are
looked after
Rapidity an Important Principle
The orfranization and workings of this unit are typical of those
throughout the country. The zone proper comprises five miles about
each camp, but in some places, where it has been requested by the local
authorities^ whole counties have been included in the area thus ad-
ministered, and local boards of health, county and state funds, cham-
bers of commerce, men's and women ^s clubs, all have contributed to the
salaries of the nurses needed.
On account of the tremendous increase in population over normal
times, it has been necessary to correlate the work of the public health
nurses in these zones and to drop much of the usual bedside care, in
order to cover the immense amount of instructive work that has to be
done^ The conviction that this is no time to waste a minute underlies
the plans for reorganization which has been recommended in the various
extra-cantonment zones which have been vis ted* On a recent tour of
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SANITARY CONDITIONS ABOUT MILITARY CAMPS — LENT 191
inspection in one of the cantonment zones, it was recommended that a
combination of various existing agencies, under the direction of the
United States Public Health Service be inaugurated, the following be-
ing a brief outline of the general plan submitted :
That the citr be laid out in small districts, with a nurse assigned to do aU
the nursing work in each district; that the supervisors of the various existing
associations be retained as specialists to train the nurses and to advise in difficult
cases; that the funds now made available for nurses' salaries by the separate
associations be applied for the same number of nurses for work under the new
plan; and that the present directing bodies, such as the district nurse association,
remain in existence as advisory boards.
This generalization of nursing work, wherever possible, has been
effected as being the most economical use of the nurses* time and efforts.
It will provide a more intensive nursing service, because it will double
the number of patients a nurse can visit, will increase by 50 per cent
the number of cases of disease reported, will enable disease to be recog-
nized and treated in its early stages, will facilitate the isolation of pa-
tients before they are able to infect others, will keep people well by
educational work, will protect the civilian population, and in that way
the soldier — for a great proportion of the e()idemics among the soldiers
can be traced directly to the community in or near which the camp is
situated. This plan will mean less besides nursing, but the nurses can
teach others to do the simple things for which trained service is not
required. It will reduce the number of special nurses, but special super-
vision will make up this lack. This war, with its mobolization of
soldiers in great centers, with its demand for highest human efficiency
delivered promptly at the fighting front, with its requirement for great
numbers of nurses drawn into military service, presents an emergency
which must be met by emergency measures. This plan has already been
put into successful operation in a number of other cities and canton-
ment zones.
Value of the Service
Hundreds of American soldiers have died and hundreds of others
have been brought down by preventable diseases, contracted in the
preparation and training of soldiers who were unable to embark at the
appointed time on account of sickness, and this form of organization
would give the greatest protection to the men in training and preclude
as far as possible the increment of military loss due to preventable
sickness. How appalling this military, economic and human loss has
been in the past was very clearly shown in statements made by Dr.
Louis Livingston Seaman, in testimony which he gave recently before
the Committee on Military Affairs of the House of representatives.
Dr. Seaman has been in eight different wars, on every continent of the
world, for the sole purpose of studying military sanitation and the pre-
vention of disease in armies. He gave, among others, the following
statements and figures:
It must never be forgotten that in every great campaign an army faces two
enemies — the armed forces of the opposing foe with his various machines for
human destruction, who is met at intervals in open battle, and the hidden foe
always found lurking in every camp, the grim specter ever present, that gathers
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t^ HEALTH
!ti vlrtfmi while tlie_ loldier alamberB in hospitmla^ tn bairackBi cr In hlvouic —
the ftr greater und silent formr^diieaie* Of these enemiei^ tbe htiitory of warfare
for centuries bju proven that in pyorJonged camp^gni the ^rst or open enemy
kill* 30 per cent of tbe total mortality in tbe conflict, while the aecond or illent
eficmy knls 80 per cejiL In Other words, out of eTery 100 men who fall in war,
30 die from bullets or wounds, while 80 perish from disease, moat of which ii
preventable. Thifi dreadful and unnecessary gacrifice of life, especially in conflicts
between ihe An^Lo-Saxon races, is the tncst Bhostl;^ pTopoaitian of tnodern war.
In the 6ve months of the Porto Rican campaign in the late Spanish^ A mericaji
War, 303 men died from disease, while only three were kilted by bulletin In the
mohilizatton camps of tbe United States during that war !Sfl,64B men died of
preventable diseases without one of them leaving tbe country or seeing the ^ring
line. • * • • In this army of 170,000 there were Ih^jS^OOO hospital admissions.
Or fO per cent, although three-fourths of the men never left the campa of their
native land.
Perhaps the most significant new piece of work has been the estab-
lishment of venereal clinics. This has followed the successful work
done along these lines in some of our large hospitals during the past
five or SIX years. Such clinics, to treat venereal disease in the civilian
population, is the logical concomitant of the efforts being put forth
to make and keep our troops the cleanest body of men that have ever
gone into battle.
Surely these figures and facts carry their own convincing argument
for the adoption of such means of protection for the men in cantonments
a^ have been proved efficacious by the test of experience.
VENEREAL DISEASES AND CLINICS FOR CIVILIANS
NEAR MILITARY CAMPS
Jnn Doyle, R. N., SupennHnj Nvrse, Division of Venereal Diseases,
U- S. Public Health Service
Immediately following the declaration of war and the establish-
ment of cantonments by the War Departmenr, the President, by execu-
tive order, charged the Public Health Service with the task of rendering
the extra-cantonment 2ones safe for the soldiers*
When the first draft figures became available, the incidence of
venereal disease was noted to be alarming. This accentuated the knowl-
edge gained by the experience the army had just had with the troops
on the Mexican border. It became apparent that something very definite
must be done to control and prevent venereal disease. To accomplish
this end clinics for the treatment of venereal diseases were opened in
the extra cantonment zones. These clinics were supported jointly by
the American Red Cross and the U, S, Public Health Ser\^ice, and
designated U. S, Government clinics. In charge of these clinics were
syphilogists, genito-unnary specialists, bacteriologists, and nurses.
Close co-operation was established with the law enforcement di-
vision of the Commission on Training Camp Activities, and extensive
advertising was carried on through the newspapers, through trade
journals, stickers in the pay envelopes of men employed in large indus-
tries, ship yards, munition factories, etc., as well as talks given hy the
medical officers and the nurses to groups of people wherever possible.
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VENBRBAL DISEASES AND CLINICS — DOYLE 193
The clinics were located in the business sections of the cities readily
available for all classes of people* The work of the clinics has proved
to be very effective in the education of the venereally infected, and their
preparation, through treat men t^ to return to society. < As the majority
of these clinics are in cities where there has never been such care avail-
able before, they soon become crowded with patients,
l^hree classes of patients have received treatment First: Persons
taken in raids and brought to the clinic on charges of disorderly conduct
for examination to ascertain whether or not they are infected. Second :
Cases coming under coercion; in other words, people who have been
under suspicion are warned that if they do not present themselves for
examination and treatment, if necessary, they will be brought in by the
police. Third: Voluntary cas^. These include persons who have read
the advertisements and who have been advised through the talks given
at the various meetings; or persons sent in by the various agencies, such
as the visiting nurse association, the infant welfare nurses, etc*
An analysis of the fibres does not indicate that the problem of
prostitution has been really solved, as few known prostitutes attend
voluntarily, and for the most part these have been found to be only
slightly infectious. The great problem of clandestine prostitution is as
yet only partly touched. There is the greatest need for more workers
in this field, workers who understand the problems of venereal diseaise,
are trained in sex hygiene education, and who will be able to interpret
to various types of mentalities the problem of prevention of venereal
disease.
The social aspects of these diseases have received the attention w^hich
we, as public health nurses, have long felt would never come. Attached
to many of these U. S. government clinics are social service departments
conducted by socially trained public health nurses whose business it h
to ascertain the moral, economic, and social reasons for the infection of
each person applying for treatment.
The responsibilities of the nurse in the government clinic social
service departments are many. She has constantly before her first, the
duty of protecting the military forces from disease, secojid, the pro-
tection of the communit}', and third, the protection of the individual and
his family. She must aid in ascertaining the source of infection ; she
must aid in the rounding up of contacts, for the venereal diseases have
their epidemiology just as other communicable diseases have epidemiology,
and contacts and carriers of venereal diseases require just as careful at-
tention as do contacts and carriers of meningitis, etc. The final disposi-
tion or "post quarantine" stage of the venereal diseases is of utmost
importance. Especially is this true of women infected with gonorrhea.
Here the nurse must use exceptional judgment, for like carriers of
typhoid or dysentary, carriers of the gonococcus are a constant source
of danger* ?
The detention hospitals, maintained by the states, cities^ or counties,
the Red Cross in conjunction with the U, S. Public Health Service,
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194 HEALTH
provide for the early, radical care these diseases require, segregate the
carriers thus preventing the spread of infection, and at the same time
detain these people long enough so that a plan for their future living
may be made.
Section 13 of the Selective Act made it unlawful for any person
to practice prostitution, fornication, etc., within a certain radius of a
military establishment. Many of the patients brought in by the police
authorities and under coercion are guilty of violation of this act- Plans
are being made to have such offenders placed on Government farms and
in Government reformatories.
Effort is being made to secure proper legislation for the prevention
and control of venereal disease. The "State Board of Health Regula-
tion for the Prevention of Venereal Disease" (Public Health Sen^tcc
reports, Volume 33, No. 13, March 29, 1918,) are comprehensive and
practical. We are hoping that most of the new legislation will be based
upon these suggestions. As the work goes on the enormity of the prob-
lem becomes apparent, and the U. S. Public Health Service is contem-
plating a very definite program for the future of this work. It is hoped
that this campaign, started for the protection of the military forces, will
become a nation-wide movement for the protection of every citizen^ —
man, woman, and child, black and white — in this country.
HOUSING— ITS RELATION TO SOCIAL V^ORK
Mrs. Albion Fellows Bacon, Evansville, Indiana
There never was a time when social work was more important.
There never was a time when housing was more important, and its
relation to social work so clearly recognized. The war has enlarged
the field of social work immeasurably. It has also suddenly brought to
light the relation of housing to all classes of people, to industry, to
government employes, to the very winning of the war. The appropria-
tion by Congress of $60,000,000 for housing, following a hold-up of
ship building and munitions making, due to lack of housing facilities,
is the strongest word that can be spoken in regard to this subject Until
the war is won, everything we do is estimated according to its relation
to the war. But social workers, whose work has been made heavier and
harder by the war, must be looking ahead to the days of reconstruction,
after the war, when the excitement is over, the tension is relaxed^ when
the men come home. President Wilson has said that this war is to
make the world a fit and safe place to live in. The social worker's job
is also to make the world a fit and safe place to live in. That is also
the job of the housing worker, and it will never be a fit and safe place to
live in until "all the homes of all the people" are safe— until every
little child is safe in its own home.
The purpose of this paper is to establish the tnie and correct rela-
tion of housing to social work. There seems to be no relation, in most
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HOUSING AND SOCIAL WORK — BACON 195
communities, or, that relation is not understood, because housing is not
understood- So let us begin with definitions.
Bad Housing Creates Need of Social Work
Housing means shelter, dwelling places, homes. You speak of
housing workmen, just as you speak of housing machinery, only the
first is not generally done as carefully as the latter. The term properly
refers to every place of habitation, whether it be a dwelling house, hotel
or sanitarium. The housing problem is the problem of providing fit
and adequate dwelling places for every person in a community. People
can be housed— they are housed — in shacks, in stables, in lodging houses,
in tenement barracks, in derailed cars, in old hotels, in garrets, in
cellars, in styes, in compartment houses. None of these places are fit
for homes. They are called homes, but they are not So we lump them
in housing* But they come under bad housing. The home, or the
house that is safe, sanitary, convenient, comfortable, a fit place to rear
a family, comes under good housing. That belongs to the upper story
of social work. The foundation and the first story of social work must
begin with those conditions of the unfit, unsafe home— bad housing,
slums — that devastate and ruin human lives* These are the conditions
that pile up social wreckage faster than churches can evangelize, faster
than schools can educate, faster than doctors can cure, than stretcher
bearers — I mean you — can bear them ofi the field.
I speak from fifteen years' experience as a social worker, and ten
years' experience as a housing reformerj for I came into housing
reform through the doors of social work. I had labored for child
welfare, for working girls, for social uplift and civic betterment, for
public health, had worked against vice, against tuberculosis, tried to
relieve the sufferings of the poor and the aged. I found that all 1
could do gave only temporary relief, only partial improvement; that
until we could get people who needed cures, families that needed to be
reinstated, into more sanitary houses and more favorable environment,
we might give them a lift, but we could not keep them up* We must
recognize that all social workers meet cases that seem hopelessly wrecked,
especially among the older ones, or that arc so mentally defective that
they have nothing to but Id on. But there is no case so bad that bad
surroundings will not make it worse. And though an improved en-
vironment may seem to offer no hope of betterment^ it will at least
lessen their misery, when they are taken out of damp, dark rooms. It
will lessen their chance of disease, and the chance of giving contagions
to others. It will lessen congestion and reduce the moral menace to
other families.
Now, as I said, it is bad housing— slums — that I must talk about
mostly. It is to the slums, or near-sluras, that you generally go to find
your patients. It is there the police are oftenest called, where the
patrol wagon and ambulance make most trips; where quarantines are
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19$ HEALTH
oftenest necessary- If it were not for slums^ a lot of social workers
would lose their Jobsj the police force, the fire department and the
health department could all be cut down* Fire insurance would be
cheaper, in many districts, and so would life insurance. You know,
doubtless, that life insurance companies will not give premiums in the
worst slum districts. I might go a little further and say that if it were
not for houses we would not have some of our diseases. Before houses,
there was no tuberculosis, probably no pneumonia. Both arc house
diseases* You find them worst w^here you find most dark rooms and
congestion*
The Typical Bad House
Doubtless I am talking to people from big cities, little cities, towns
and villages, so I must be explicit in speaking of slums* I mean the worst
old houses in your community, whether you have 2,000,000 or 200— the
houses where you keep your poor. Shut your eyes and think of the
places where your poor live. I have visited the slums of many states,
in cities, villages, or country places. I can see now the place that is
before your mental vision. It is a rickety old house. If any of you
keep your poor in nice new houses, please stand up, and let us get the
name of the place.
The house you are thinking of is one of the oldest houses in the
town. Ten to one it was the home of an early settler, perhaps once
a mansion. Now it is tumbletiown, rotting, wcatlier-lKaten, gray. It
stands flat on the ground*. Other houses have crowded up against it,
perhaps business houses, so that it is dark and gloomy. It has several
families in it, from two to a dozen or more. They are weather-beaten
and gray, too. They look like members of the same family, in a way,
slip-shod, sallow, sullen, unsmiling. Dirty babies are crawling down
dirty stairs, dirty children playing in the dirty yard. There is a gray
washinjT hanging in the yard. There are blackened, rotting sheds in
the yard, perhaps an old, uncovered cistern. The yard is damp with
dishwater and suds. It has no grass, maybe tall weeds. Garbage is
piled on the ash heap and flies are everywhere.
If the house is in a village, it may have only one or two families.
If it is in a city, you are thinking of an old hotel, or a row of tenements,
perhaps a Ghetto, where shops below have a display of fish, or old clothes,
or junk, or shabby groceries; where old crones with shawls over their
heads, draggled skirts and slippers down at the heel, sit at the door, with
one eye on the customers, the other on a baby in the gutter or the boys
fighting in the street. You have a mental vision of the dark, narrow,
dirty stairs, mounting up to dark, narrow, dirty rooms; of filth and
odors everywhere — of congested, swarming life. No matter whether
you live in city or country, you sec, in your mind*s picture, the bent,
hollow-chested con sump tive^ you hear the rattling cough; you see the
sick baby, the pale, weary mother.
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HOUSING AND SOCIAL WORK— SACON 197
The Toll of Diseases
Tuberculosis is the one unfailing spectre that every one of you
encounters, whether you come from back woods slums or big dty
slums. We find country houses with a record for wiping out two,
four, even six families by tuberculosis, in succession, as they move in-
These are houses that are infected, that could not be disinfected by
fumes, by soap, lye or pamt, because the crevices are too wide, because
the walls are so to ugh, and the plastering is so broken. It is not
possible to escape getting tuberculosis if one moves into such a house,
once the disease gets a hold in it. Everything about the house favors
the disease, when it is low, damp, musty, dark and gloomy. If the
patient is sent away in time, and cured, he takes it again when he comes
back. It is a case of house.
Every social worker knows what tuberculosis means, in multiply-
ing cost and eflFort, in leaving dependent orphans and widows, in bank-
rupting the family by the long illness. I need not dwell on that. In
the city tuberculosis is increased by congestion. Houses built in crowded
rows have dark inside sleeping rooms, dark halls, gloomy yards, if any.
I need not do more than mention what the dark room means to
tuberculosis. In the city humanity is more condensed. I need not tell
you what congestion means to tuberculosis* I may have to explain*
however, that congestion must be counted as a housing evil, because it
means inadequate housing facilities and overbuilt lots.
So much for tuberculosis. If I stopped here I would feel that the
relation of housing to social work had been established. But there are
other house diseases — pneumonia, which congestion, with the consequent
foul, vitiated air, makes so much more fatal, "Colds," with their long
train of evils, resulting from dampness, sudden chill from draughts,
lowered vitality, bad air; inflammation of the respiratory organs, ton-
sititis, rheumatism, heart troubles — the long-linked chain is found in
all of these dark, damp, un ventilated, overcrowded .houses. Added to
these are the filth diseases^ spread by contact, like eruptive diseases; or
typhoid, disseminated in sewage-polluted water or filthy miltc. These
are all increased by congestion.
How much do they all add to the burden of the social worker?
I have the word of more than one visiting nurse that her efforts were
useless in many cases, so long as the family lived in the unsanitary
houses where they were always sick, and could not get welL All social
workers know of cases that have improved in health when moved to
sanitary quarters, until the bread winner has been able to go back to
MTork and the family was no longer dependent.
Crime and Mental Defectiveness
I have said that before houses certain diseases did not exkt. Have
you ever thought that even our crimes have changed? Before we had
large cities, crimes were mostly due to too high spirits and the over-
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198 HEALTH
abundant vitality of outdoor people. Read the old sagas^— read the
stories of early Saxon or Britain fights and robberies. I appeal to those
who have charge of our reformatories to know if crimes no^v are not
mostly due to diseased bodies or brains, or to defective mentality; to
minds over-clouded by brooding among shadows; or due to lowered
resistance, to low vitality, and the stimulants craved as an offset to low
vitality; to the over-close contact forced by congested living^ and the
nervous irritability due to the foregoing conditions.
In our conferences on mental hygiene we liave discussed the rela-
tion of housing to insanity and feeble-mind edn ess. It was agreed by
various experts that congestion and dark rooms made every menace of
the feeble-minded, and every danger to the feeble-minded, greater. It
was also agreed that many a mental breakdown was hastened hy the
breakdown in health due to unsanitary living conditions; and that
depression, lowered vitality and irritability, due to house gloom, to
noise, to lack of privacy and the general wretchedness of slum living,
accelerated many a mental wreck. Put a strong, normal person into a
slum J and he will have a fight to keep his physical and mental poise.
Put a sickly, subnormal person into the slums, and he is overwhelmed.
As social workers find so much of their work among the mentally
subnormal, I feel this is in place. Of course, heredity gives us the
mental defective. Environment makes the very worst out of him, and
of his children.
Vice and the Degradation of Family Life
Vice also meets the social worker. All I have to say about the
relation of bad housing to vice is that the dark room is the mother of
shame; that dark rooms and halls offer temptation to both vice and
crime. That congestion also makes vice almost inevitable, and that
vice is found in connection with congestion and the dark room. The
common use of every convenience by both sexes, young and old, pro-
motes vice. Promiscuous living promotes vice. I need not cite
examples. You know them. You know that the child of the slums
lives in a school of vice. As a corroboration of the effect of environ-
ment, I have had old houses pointed out to me by officers in different
cities. They would say, "Before we cleaned these places up, we had
arrests every few days. Now we have no trouble. The people seem
to have more self respect."
This seems to be the keynote of the effect of the slums on family
life. The social worker knows the necessity of maintaining or awaken-
ing self respect in the family he is endeavoring to reinstate. In the
slums there is everything to degrade, everything to suggest and foster
evil. The housekeeper feels that there is "no use" to try to keep her
rooms clean, when no one is responsible for the hall, stairs or yard,
when dirt is tracked in on her freshly scrubbed floor, and when soot
pours in through the loose window frames. The more thrifty who
^
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HOUSIKC AND SOCIAL WORK — BACON If?
move into an old tenement soon succumb to the shiftless, easy-going
habits of the older tenants. What, indeed, is the use, when the job is
hopeless, to try to make a slum look homelike? I need not go into
the details of sights, odors, inconveniences that every one of you recall-
When you went to wait on the sick mother, you had to go downstairs
for water to wash the baby, go across the hall to get something to
wash it in, and go upstairs to heat the water. You had to close the
windows to keep out smells and f!ies, you had to put a chair against
the door to keep out the fighting boys. When you found her husband
had deserted her, you wondered how he had slept in that stuflfy room
so long, when a hobo life beckoned him to sweet air and the greenwood
tree for shelter. When the pretty daughter went wrong, you remem-
bered that she would never bring her "gentlemen friends" up those
greasy stairs, to the room w^here the wash tub and the coal pile jostled
the beds, and the family circle had to stand up and lock arms. When
the little boy got into the juvenile court, you didn't wonder why he
stayed out as long as he could keep awake, before creeping into the
stifling room and falling on his pallet. And the children, the little
ones! You hear such words on their baby lips, you see such a knowing
look in their baby eyes, that you long to gather them up in your arms
and fly with them to a daisy pasture, ivhere they can run and play in
wind and sun, and grow up strong — and innocent! It is child welfare
that has been the strong passion that has kept mc at housing reform,
because in ever city I visit I see the little old people of the tenements,
weazened, pallid, sickly, stunted in soul and body, growing up to a
hopeless life, following in the steps of their parents, unless a miracle
lifts them out and away from it
This is what I ^vant to impress on social workers everywhere.
Whatever home means to us, it means to others, for human nature is
the same, and physical nature is the same, and mental laws are un-
varying. If it is necessary for us to have peace, quiet, rest, sunshine and
air, a cheerful environment, elevating surroundings, it is necessary for
all other human beinjr^. If we were wet, cold, hungry, wretched, shut
into a dark room, amid noise and confusion, we would have a struggle
to keep well, and to keep up our home life and atmosphere for the rest
of the family. That thousands of children are growing up in styes
that can not possibly be made homelike or cheerful, that can never have
hallowed associations, is, it seems to me, a grave menace that social
workers should consider,
A Call to Reform
Let us remember, then, that a dark room is not fit for a home.
A cellar is not fit for a home,
A stable is not fit for a home.
A house crowded with vicious people is not fit for a home,
A fire trap is not fit for a home.
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200 HEALTH
A death trap is not fit for a home.
A house in a vile neighborhood is not fit for a home,
A public place, with no safety from intrusion, is not fit for a home-
Remember this when you visit the poor, and try to save their little
children to something better than the parents know. Remember this
when your chamber of commerce reaches out windmill arms to rake
in new industriese, exulting when it lands a factory with hundreds of
working men, but makes no provision for finding them homes — when
your city is already congested. Remember this when you see these
workmen's families forced to double up in the slums, w^ith the poorest
and most degraded people. Remember that the normal family, forced
to live in a subnormal environment , sinks to the subnormal, if It remains
long enough ; first physically^ through illness or death of breadwinner,
or lass by iilness; then morally, by lowered standards and loss of self-
respect. See how many recruits are brought to the ranks of poverty
yearly, in this way. See if you can not use your influence against putting
workmen's families in slums.
Some of you have long realized the truth of my statements* You
have resorted to many devices to improve surroundings, but, unless you
have a housing law, the best you can do, if a house is in very bad
condition, is to get the family to move. Then another family goes in,
and you have another case. Landlords won't improve slums unless
they have to, and they pay from 15 to 50, even 100 per cent, as we
have discovered. Nothing but a law will get rid of the old houses or
improve them. Nothing but a fight will get the law. That's why
we have not more laws. *'It's a long, long trail a-wtnding'* to get a
housing law. But it is worth the fight. We have torn down over
500 old houses in my town, and I want to tear down at least 500 more.
We have many thousands to tear down in Indiana before the wreckage
of a century is cleared away. And we are making over hundreds that
will stand repairs. Other states are doing it too. What is your state
doing? If it hasn't begun on housing work, begin at once, for, notwith-
standing the opposition of slum owners and the people v\*ho believe that
the poor are "naturally vicious and like to be dirty/' and the people
who want to do things the easiest way, you will find that housing
reform is fundamental to social work.
Remember, houses are building today that will be killing and
costing fifty years after the war is over. Remember, too, bad housing
is like a two-edged sword. It cuts both ways. It injures the poor, it
injures the community. It cuts the real estate man hardest of all,
whose property adjoins slums. It tears dow^n the civic structure you
are tr>^ing to build, it ruins civic bcaut}^ it undermines public health
and public morals, it is the stronghold of vice and evil. Wipe it out.
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DEVELOPMENT INCREMENT AND THE COMMUNITY' — PURDY 201
CONSERVING DEVELOPMENT INCREMENT FOR THE
COMMUNIT^^
Lmvson Purdy, General Director, Charity Organization Society,
New York
Mrs. Bacon has told you of the great need of housing reform and
the slum conditionis that exist; of the necessity for abolishing slums j
of the demand for better housing laws so that we shall not renew old
evil conditions.
The needs of the country arising from the war make a new demand
for adequate houses and present an opportunity both to do what is
necessary to win the war and to create an asset for aU time. Long be*
fore the war, industrial corporations were confronted with great diffi-
culty in obtaining a sufficient supply of skilled workers and unskilled
workers- Men left their employment so quickly and so often that it
was necessary in many plants to hire during a year three or four times
as many workmen as were employed at any one time, Inhere were many
causes for this great labor turnover, as it is called, but there can be no
doubt but that one of the causes was the unsatisfactory character of the
living conditions, only too common. Employers generally were fearful
that if they invested money in suitable homes for their workmen they
would be charged with a patriarchal attitude resulting in the same feel-
ing of unrest and ill-will which was said to have contributed to the labor
troubles of the Pullman Company twenty- four years ago.
Conditions Disclosed hy Sun^eys
When the town of Gary was established by the United States Steel
Cor|.ioration, the company bought land enough for its own plant and
for the plants of some subsidiary companies, but very little more. It has
used a small tract of land for houses for its workmen and has sold those
houses on very liberal terms. I^he number of houses, however, that the
company built was small compared to the demand.
About a year ago a careful study was made for the Committee on
New Industrial Towns of the real estate situation in the town of Gary*
In brief, that study showed that the value of the land in the town of
Gary today is worth $22,D0()j00O more than all it was worth at the
time the company bought, including all that has been spent for public
improvements. That excess value has been created by the large popula-
tion attracted by these great manufacturing industries. Had the Steel
Company bought all the land in the town of Gary and kept \t^ it might
have conserved that value for itself or for the inhabitants of the town.
That value has actually been scattered about; some have profited and
some have lost, as many always do when they speculate in vacant land.
The town has the reputation of being well managed, but its revenues are
inadequate for the public services that would make such a town most
attractive. If today it enjoyed the revenue represented by the rental
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202 HEALTH
value of the kn<l, it woulfl have two and one-half times the revenue it
actually spends* The town is ill-pknned as is every town that grows
without suitable public controL
A similar study was made of the city of Lackawanna, New Yorkp
a town created by the Lackawanna Steel Company. The conditions there
are by no means as good as in the town of Gary. The results are similar.
The skilled workmen dislike the place so much that most of them live
in Buffalo, Many of the workers live in boarding houses annexed to
saloons. The company has built some houses and rents them to its em-
ployees, but rents them at a loss. The excess land value in the case of
Lackawanna city is about $7,000,000.
Great Britain versus United States
In 1914 Great Britain was confronted with the same problem as to
labor that confronts the United States today. The labor turnover was
heavy and it was difficult to obtain a sufficient number of workers for
the munition plants. For a time makeslufts were adopted, temporary
barracks were built, and conditions did not improve materially* 7^hen
the problem was faced squarely. It was found that to build comfortable,
permanent, and even beautiful houses cost but little more than to build
temporary houses; that the permanent houses would be an asset after
the war^ and would be better for present uses.
Great Britain at national expense has built several large towns.
They are planned by the best planning architects of Great Britain, The
houses have been designed by the best architectural experts. The social
needs of the people have been met by the erection of club houses, rest
houses, theatres, and stores* No part of this property has been sold.
It is managed as a unit for the benefit of the workmen. It is highly
probable that that advantage of united management will never be lost
because of w^hat happened before the war in England-
Some time before the war several co-operative garden citfes had
been created in England. They had been in existence long enough to
prove that the plan was practicable and socially advantageous^ both to
chose who lived in these cities and to the nation. Under laws passed
before the war it was made possible for municipalites to engage in hous-
ing schemes of similar character* Now it seems probable that these
towns built for munition workei^ will be turned over after the war to
the management of co-operative societies or to municipal governments.
Here in the United States, as I have said, we have the same prob-
lem that in all the government plants there is a heavy turnover. Before
the war there had been a heavy labor turnover at private plants. That
labor turnover was bad in itself. It was tremendously expensive. It in-
creased the cost of goods. It w^as bad morally and socially for the work-
ers themselves. From a civic point of view it destroyed community senti-
ment, without which there can be no satisfactory local government.
Profiting by the experience of Great Britain, the United States has
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DEVELOPMENT INCREMENT AND THE COMMUNITY — PURDY 203
appropriated $110,000,000 as a beginning for the building of suitable
homes for workers. Plans have so far been developed that it is reason-
ably certain that the Shipping Board and the Labor Department who
control these properties will employ the best architectural skill in the
planning of the towns and the planning of the houses.
Men who have lots for sale have very naturally urged upon the
housing directors that their lots should be bought for the houses to be
built. On the other hand, it is urged most strongly that it is essential
that contiguous tracts of land should be acquired so that as nearly as
possible independent communities may be created; that no lots should
be sold ; that for the period of the war there shall be a united control
and a single management of the whole industrial community. It is only
by this policy that we may hope to obtain a permanent working force of
contented workers. They must be given a voice in the management.
They must see that a reasonable part of the rent they pay is devoted to
their own welfare.
If these plans are carried out successfully, there will be little danger
of any failure to find a use for the factory buildings and workmen's
houses when the war is over. The managers of great industries seek
dilif^ently to find a place where there is an adequate labor supply. We
may, therefore, confidently expect that when munition making ceases, the
plants will be sought by those who will use them to produce things
needed for a peaceful population. This policy, therefore, will conserve
the expenditure of the Government for war purposes in creating muni-
tion plants and houses for the people who work in them.
Suggested Evolution for the War Industry Town
Whf-n the war is over what shall the United States do with these
towns? It will doubtless be urged that the United States shall sell in-
dividual houses to individual workmen. I am sure that should such a
policy he adopted it will fail for one sufficient reason, if not for many;
labor unions discourage the purchase of homes by workmen. They have
learned by bitter experience that when men have invested their all in
an equit}^ in their homes they suffer greatly should a strike be called,
and they fear to act collectively because of the danger to their invest-
ment. There can be no doubt but that the interest men have in their
homes that they own is a very valuable interest. We need that interest
and it should be intensified. Is it not possible to create in this country
the same social sentiment toward a community-owned town that exists
today toward the co-operative garden cities of England? I believe it is
and that this community sentiment may be finer and stronger than the
comparatively narrow and selfish interest that a man may have in his
little ill-kept back yard. Individually owned plots of land can never be
made as beautiful and attractive and useful as when there is unity of
ownership and a common use of part of the land. One has only to look
at the photographs of the English munition towns to realize the tre-
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204 HEALTH
mendous difference between the policy pursued there and the appearance
of the best towns we have in this country.
The organization of the Engli^sh co-operative towns is rather com-
plicated. It seems that we might achieve the same result by a simpler
plan. When the war is over, let the United States first write off as part
of the cost of the war the excess cost of its munition towns over what
they would have cost In normal times. Let membership corporations
be formed to take title to towns subject to a mortgage to the United
States for the fair value of the property. The United States should
receive interest on its loan at the same rate it pays on its bonds. It
should be possible to pay installments of the loan at the rate of about
two per cent a yean If that can be done, the United States will have
its principal back in about twenty -seven years. The membership cor-
poration, formed for the benefit of the inhabitants of the tow^n, will then
own the town free and clear. The United States will appoint the original
trustees. As it received back its principal the town should elect a pro-
portionate number of the tnistccs. In due time all of the trustees might
be elected by the town. Such tow^ns, when the United States was paid»
would have a revenue several times as great as that enjoyed by any
town in the United States. The best of that revenue would be that no
one in the town would pay more than the fair rental value of the
premises he occupied and would receive in such benefits as he voted for
many times what the inhabitants of any towns have received in the past.
At first one mif;ht think that a town could not use so larfje a
revenue, but a little reflection will show that the richest community In
the United States today is spending far less than is demanded by those
best informed and most deeply interested in the health, education, and
social welfare of the people. The death rate is very largely a matter of
money; education is largely a matter of money; even morals are largely
a matter of money* Let a town spend enough for health, education,
recreation, and it may have a healthy, happy, and useful body of citi^.cns,
a great asset to the whole United States and an example for the rest of
the United States.
INFORMAL DISCUSSION
The presiding^ ofricer at this meeting was Frederic .^Imy, secre-
tary of the Buffalo Charity Organization Society. Preceding the ad-
dresses of Mrs. Bacon and Mr. Purdy, Dr. M. Takenouchi of Tokio
was introduced. His address is printed on pages 39-41.
1. To a question as to what progress had been made in Wash-
ington toward settling these questions, Mr. Pttrdy answered that he
knew only in a general way that the ideas which he had expressed
had been sympathetically listened to by Mr. Fidlitz and Mr. Flannery.
So far. Congress had not gone further than to be grudgingly willing
to build temporary barracks for w^orkers. However, the Shipping
Board and the Labor Department have put in the hands of competent
architects the plans of cities. They will prevent congestion, the
houses w^ill be simple, though possiljly not beautiful, and social
amenities will be provided far. When the idea first started, the un-
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cuscussioN 205
derstanding was that local capita! should provide the funds, the United
States to lend only a proportion of the amount locally subscribed.
When it developed that local capital was not to have a dividend of
over 5%, it did not come forward in any great amounts. The present
plans in at least one enterprise, is for the government to subscribe
95% and the local capital 57e- The use of this local capital is intended
as a guarantee of local management* Also if the government held
the title, the land would not be taxable, v^'^hich might cause serious
conditions in cities where large parts had been withdrawn for this use.
2. Mrs. Ray I'att Baakn of Pittsburgh asked if it was up to
industry to ask government for a part of the $110,000,000 and what
the chances were of getting it.
3. Mr. Purdy rephed that certain restrictions had been imposed
chief among them being that the necessity for houses should arise
immediately from some industry engaged in war work. Localities are
required to have done all they could first, including a thorough hous-
ing survey, covering among other things, resources and possibilities
for improvement of the situation by remodeling existing buildings, or
by increased transportation facilities to other towns or cities.
To a question as to how much the government had invested and
where, Mr. Purdy replied that not a great deal had yet been spent.
He understood that the Shipping Board had spent part of its $50,000,-
000— not far from Baltimore. Great Britain has already spent several
hundred millions— ^so our $110,000,000 is only a starter.
4. George /. Nclhach of New York asked whether the bill carrying
the appropriation gives the housing bureaus authority for safe-guarding
amortization, to keep the projects from falling into the hands of
speculators,
5. Mk Purdy replied that he so understood the Shipping Board
to have donCr though the Labor Department had not yet done so.
5. Asked what could be done to support bis proposals, Mr, Purdy
replied that we could go out and make all possible public sentiment
until the mea.sures pass Congress; then try to get the money spent
according to the plan outlinetl and not to sell to individual workers^.
Even if a few houses are sold, it upsets the scheme of unified control
The men in charge of spending the money will be glad to have sup-
port in the ideas of communal spending and managing.
7. /f, L, Eddy of Des Moines asked if there was any possibility
of getting sgme of the money for building houses needed in a can-
tonment city for housing soldiers* fan^ilies. He asked also if the new
law proposed for Iowa would apply to the whole state, or only to
the larger cities.
8. Mrs. Bacon answered the second ciuestinn to the effect that
this was a point much debated. That they would better get just as
comprehensive a law as they could, always be prepared for compro-
mises but cover the entire state if possible.
9. Mr. Purdy said that he did not know whether it would be
possible to get grants for a cantonment city, as it hardly felt within
the scope of either the Shipping Board or the Department of Labor.
He thought that possibly an appropriation might be secured through
the Committee on Training Camp Activities.
10. Mr. Nelbach asked to what extent the Indiana law was en-
forced. Is it enforced in rural communities to the extent of tearing
down houses?
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206 HEALTH
11. Mrs. Bacon replied that the law was enforced by building;
inspectors where there were such, and elsewhere by the health officers,
usually part time officials. The law was being tolerably well enforced^
though not perfectly, and few houses in rural districts had been torn
down. Such laws depending on public sentiment for enforcement and
arc not automatic anywhere.
13. Carol Aronovici, of St. Paul, asked whether it was advisable
to place the entire responsibility for the financing of housing upon
the federal government, and whether it would not be more advisable
to the housing movement and to those affected by the improved hous-
ing to have the federal government subsidize local enterprises which
would largely be financed by state and municipal governments. This
he said, would not only increase the financial resources for such work,
but would be a precedent for further development of local financial
policies. The federalizing of the housing movement represents a
serious danger to local initiative.
13. Mr, Purdy replied that after the war is over we shall probably
have to depend on state and municipal money, since it is so hard to
get speculative money if conditions are properly maintained, as the
returns are not sure enough of being large.
14. Bernard J. Newman of Philadelphia asked why it was not
legitimate to charge housing costs to the total cost of production. Should
not the manufacturer who makes good profits provide good living con-
ditions for his employees, and bear his part of the social responsibility
for conditions under which things are made?
15. Mr. Purdy replied that the important question was whether the
manufacturers were really going to make lots of money out of their
government contracts. Probably not. A large part of the emergency
plants will have to be scrapped, but we hope the houses will not. If
suitable houses are built and the people remain in them after the war
industry goes away, other industries will be attracted by the good labor
supply. Mr. Purdy agreed that the employer should furnish adequate
housing, but in this case he would charge the costs in with production,
and the government would still be paying for the housing, and if that
was to be done it would be better to have the government build them
as well,
16. Mr. Almy called upon Dr. Takenouchi to close the discussion,
which he did by again extending an invitation to all Americans to visit
Japan and see how she is meeting the problems common to all nations.
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IV.
PUBLIC AGENCIES AND
INSTITUTIONS
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DIVISION COMMITTEE— 1917-1918
Chairman
Albert S. Johnstone,
Secretary, State Board of Charities and CorrcctionSj Columbia, S- C
Vice Chairman
George S. Wilson^
SetTetary, Board of Public Charities, Washington, D. C.
Acting Secretary
John A. Brown,
Indiana Board of State Charities, Indianapoiis.
Francri BardwcLl Boston
Prof. R W. Illackmar Lawrence, Kans.
A. L. Bowcn Springfield, III.
Mrs» C. P. Bryant Los Angeles
Mar/ar^t F. B> fngton New York
T, Howard T. Falk Winnipeg
Hastings H. Flart New York
A. P. H«rrmg. M. D BalllTOOre
Rabbi Emtl VV. Leipzifer. ... .New Orlcafls
S. W. Matthews Quebtc
Kenosha Ses^iant, M. D. , . . . .Indianapolift
Charles E, Vaaaly , , St. Paul
?. t*» Warner , . . . * Xolumbia. Mo.
L O, Whit*^ Cincinnati
1
208
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J"
TRANSACTIONS
At the meeting of the National Conference at Kansas City, May -
15-22, 1918^ one hundred twenty- four delegates registered as members
of this Division* The Division Committee, as appointed at the 1917
Conference at Pittsburgh, is shown on the opposite page. Six meetings
for discussion were held, as follows:
PACES
May 16, 1 1 :00 a. m.j **The People and Their Institutions**. . 237
May 18, 11:00 a.m.. 'The County as a Unit in Charity
Administration" . , . .- 241
May 18, 8:15 p.m., General Session: '*The War and the
Newer Problems of Public Agencies and Institutions*'. . 2H
May 20, 9:15 a. m., "Standards of Administration of the
County Jail 254
May 20, 11:00 a. m., "Standards of Administration of the
Almshouse'' . 258
May 22, 9:15 a. m,, ^'State Boards and War Relief" 276
Tlie session on May 18th was a joint meeting with the Division
on the Family.
Division IV met at luncheon at the Coates House, Kansas City,
May 16, 1918, Albert S. Johnstone, chairman, presid inpt.
Organization and program for 1919 Conference were discussed.
A motion by Mr. Jeffrey R. Brackett, seconded by Mr. Leon C. Faulk-
ner, that the chair appoint a committee of three to nominate the
members of the committee and officers prevailed. The chairman ap-
pointed L. A. H albert, H. H. Shire r and Miss Mary Vida Clark.
A motion by Mr, Robert W. Kelsoj duly seconded ^ that the chair
appoint a committee of five, of which the chairman should be one, to
outline the polic>'^ in future programs, was carried. The chairman
appointed Robert K, Kelso, J. O, White, A, W* Butler and George A.
Warfield.
A motion by J. F. Bagley that the Division meet at dinner on
May ]7, 1918, at the Coates House to consider reports of these com-
mittees prevailed.
The report of the Committee on Nomination was adopted, nam-
ing as a Division Committee for terms indicated and as chairman those
listed in Part B., Sec. 3, appendix of this volume,
209
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^
The Division adopted the report of the Committee on Program,
recommending future consideration of the following topics:
1. That there be a continuity in the committee's research over a.
span of years,
IL That sub- divisions or sub-committees be created for purpose
of studying;
li Institutional administration and functioning.
2. County and municipal charities and administ ration »
3. State regulation of private social welfare agencies,
4. Organization of social data.
5. State o^gani^ation for public welfare.
(Signed) A, S. JOHNSTONE, Chairman.
J. A. BROWN, Secretary Fro Tern.
210
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RECENT TENDENCIES IN STATE SUPERVISION AND
CONTROL; SOME EFFECTS OF THE WORLD WAR
Division Report, Albert Sidney Johnstone, Secretary, State Board of
Charities and Corrections, Columbia, South Carolina, Chairman
Tax-supported agencies and institutions represent permanent in-
vestments of capital by the public. These investments are commen-
surate with the public's sense of responsibility for those underlying
social conditions of vi^hose existence these agencies and institutions are
simply expressions. Moreover, these agencies and institutions are
primarily concerned with human beings, flesh of our flesh and bone
of our bone. And, in many cases, it virould have been different with
these fellows of ours but for the interplay of social forces that ought
never to have been.
To realize these principles is to motivate our service with an ideal
as high and as sacred as human personality itself, companion of the
divine.
Kansas City and this general section of the United States have
made a number of interesting contributions toward realizing these
ideals. For instance, more than a dozen of our larger, and some of our
smaller, cities have followed Kansas City in consolidating into a board
of public welfare the administration of the municipality's charitable and
correctional institutions, as well as of a number of its extra-institu-
tional activities for social betterment. In the United States, Jackson
county, Missouri, claims credit for first enacting into law the idea of
widows' pensions that is now in the statutes of some thirty other states.
I. Centralization and Supervision
A year ago Missouri placed all its penal and reformatory institu-
tions under one board of control, and formulated a new children's code.
Ten ne^v laws were enacted, the most impcJrtant being a state-wide
juvenile court act^, an adoption law, and a state-wide mothers' pension
act>
Kansas has recently placed under the control of one board all the
state's educational, penal, correctional, reformatory, and charitable in-
stitutions, thus abolishing the state boards of administration, control,
and corrections. This new board consists of the governor and three
paid members appointed by the governor and subject to removal by
him. The governor is chairman. This board may employ a secretary
and a business manager for all the institutions they control. They also
elect the chief of each institution, such as chancellor, president, super-
intendent and warden, respectively.
Minnesota has enacted what is probably the most comprehensive
and progressive body of legislation in existence anywhere with reference
1. Previously only 6 out of 115 counties had juvenile courts.
211
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212 PUnUC ACENCIBS AND INSTITUTIONS
to child welfare. At the legislative session of 1917 some thirty-five
measures were made into la\v» This legislation covers broadly the field
of child welfare and centralizes in the State Board of Control all of the
duties of the state for the care and protection of dependent^ neglected,
delinquent and defective children.
At the request of the University of Oklahoma, the National Child
Labor Committee has just completed a state-wide study of child welfare
in that state. Oklahoma is thus beginning w^'th a knowledge of actual
conditions, rather than with laws, and, proceeding from the point of
view of the child's welfare, proposes to formulate a children's code that
will ebmody the best of modern standards.
In recent years Arizona, Arkansas^ Kentucky and Tennessee have
further centralized control over their state institutions, thus adopting
a policy which has been followed for many 'years by Minnesota, Wis-
consin, Iowa, North Dakota and Nebraska, hut which has found its
fullest expression in Illinois, where "all the charitable and penal insti-
tutions, twenty-three in number, with a population of 25,000 inmates,
and all the parole and pardon work of the state, have been consolidated
into one compact department, known as the Department of Public
Welfare, headed by a director, who will be the sole and the responsible
authority in the charitable and penal work of that state/'^
Though not a w^estern state, of course, New Jersey's recent action
should be noted in this connection. In New Jersey, a Department of
Charities and Correction has been created , consisting of a State Board
of Charities and Correction, of eight members, and the Commissioner
of Chanties -and Correction, who is appointed by the board and who is
its executive officer The state board has complete and exclusive
jurisdiction over all the state penal and eleemosynary institutions, and
appoints a separate board of manap^ers for each of these institutions. The
department is organized into divisions of education^ medicine and
psychiatry, labor and agriculture, statistics, parole, food and dietetics*
Power to parole is vested in the boards of managers of the several
correctional institutions, under procedure and conditions prescribed by
the state board. This board assigns to each institution the industries,
occupations, vocation and labor to be performed by the inmates, estab-
lishes hours and days of labor, and determines wages and proportion to
be sent to dependents of inmates:^
It would seem, therefore, that one answer being given by these
states as to how to secure the best results in tax-supported institutions
is, "Centralize your control.*' But the fact that Illinois, Indiana, Ohio,
Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, Tennessee, Arkansas, and other states
continue their supervisory boards, while the North Carolina board, for
instance, has been greatly strengthened, shows the fundamental need for
supervision by some agency that will be the state's educational, co-
ordinating, guiding force in this field of social service.
2. Bowcn, Proc. N, C. S. W., IBIT, p. SB7.
i. KatioDAl Committee oa PrbQui and Prisoa X4ibor: Lett^, May T« 1913*
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STATE SUPERVISION AND CONTROL — JOHNSTONE 213
II. Wars Effects on Institutions
So past experience seems to teach. Today, however, we face a
wonderfully changing present. The World War is the great social fact
of modern times. It forms the background of all our thinking; it is
the center of all our life; upon its issue depends our future. It con-
tinues to produce profound effects upon our public agencies and insti-
tutions j new fields of service are opening before us, new achievements
are becoming possible, old challenges are taking on new significance.
Increased Maintenance Costs
The most generally felt effect of the war upon our institutions has
been an increase in maintenance costs, far beyond expectations and leg-
islative provision » Retrenchments, rigid economies, decrease in waste,
employment of expert dietitians, reductions and changes in dietaries —
these arc some of the negative methods followed in meeting this prob-
lem. Positively, there has been an increased emphasis on the conserva-
tion of perishable foodstuffs through canning, preserving, and drying.
Most significant, however, in meeting maintenance costs and in pro-
viding healthful employment for institution inmates, is the increase in
agricultural operations, the raising of foodstuffs and meats. Unculti-
vated lands previously owned are being opened up, additional lands
have been leased, others bought. Expressive of this growing interest is
the round table discussion on Institution Inmates and Agriculture, ar-
ranged by this Division^ and also the resolution of the American Prison
Association that the institutions composing that organization have "no
higher duty and can perform no more valuable service than to produce
the maximum food supply" from the acreage and potential labor they
controL*
Shortage of Labor
A second effect, widely felt, has been "the losing of old employees
and the difficulty of obtaining others to take their places." The draft,
the revival of business, especially of manufacturing, the demands of the
federal government* higher salaries and wages elsewhere together with
the increasing cost of living have resulted in disrupting board and
institution organizations that it had taken years to build up. A state
board secretar>' writes: *'We have lost trained field workers and trained
clerks and stenographers in large numbers to the federal service." Dr.
Fcrnald of Waverly says: "The work of our School has been seriously
interfered with hy the enlistment of fifteen of our best officers. It has
been absolutely impossible to replace these men." Though some other
institutions report better success in this regard, neither wage increases,
concessions to employees, nor "doubling up," have been sufficient to
meet the situation fully. The doctors and nurses needed have not been
%4 Etport, Executive Committee, A. P. A., July 2 and 8, 1917.
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214 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
available at any price, and some of the larger institutions frankly admit
their administration standards have been lowered.
The attorney-general of New York state has recently held that the
law authorizing the state to make up the difference between the civil
and military compensation of those physicians who have gone out of
the state hospital service into the military service, particularly the Med-
ical Reserve CorpSj contemplates providing also for their families while
they are in the military service. Consequently, "New York has settled
upon a policy of providing maintenance for the families of these men
while they are absent on military duty/'**
BuUdins Postponed
Shortage of labor, uncertainty of deliveries, and the great increase
in the cost of materials have forced postponement of plans for institu-
tion expansion. In southern Wisconsin, writes Dn Wilmarth, under
date of February 7th, a second institution for the feeble-minded, with
the first buildings nearly ready for occupancy, has not yet been com-
pleted because of the scarcity of labor. The last session of the Penn-
sylvania legislature provided for two new state insane hospitals, one
state village for feeble-minded women of child-bearing age, and a new
state penitentiary on a farm of 5,600 acres in the central part of the
state; but to go forward with the construction of these new institutions
has proven impossible.
Inst it u tin n Pop u latia n
Secretary Kelso of the Massachusetts Board of Charity notes two
rc-adjustments in industry: (1) widespread un-employment during the
earlier part of the war; (2) later revival in industrial activity, followed
hy acute labor shortage* During the former period, there was an unex-
plained decrease in the number of juvenile delinquents committed to
the state reform schools; but drunkenness, spurred on by idleness, filled
their jails and houses of correction and their state institutions for inebri-
ates and vagabonds. During the second stage, however, commitments
of juvenile delinquents increased to such an extent that the advisability
of establishing a third school for delinquent boys is now being consid-
ered ; but the population of those institutions taking inebriates, short
termers, vagabonds^ and itinerant poor decreased notably, in some cases
to as low as thirty per cent, of the normal number, while local outdoor
relief, which in 1914 and 1915 reached 110,000 c^es, dropped in 1916
to 97^000 cases, and appears to be still going down.
The reports received from state prisons are hardly conclusive.
Warden Chilton of Kentucky says the war "has materially reduced the
number of prisoners received." Acting Warden Femsdorf of Michigan
says: *'Alluring wages being paid labor at munition plants and kindred
industries attract the floating clement to the big centers where corrup-
tion and crime are rampant, and the enforcement of law is in cheap and
•Nmt, Cam, tQt Mental Hyepm*: Letter, April 4, 1»1B*
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STATE SUPERVISION AND CONTROL — JOHNSTONE 215
political hands. The fences and privileged thieves are given every pro-
tection, and the poor, weak hirelings are sent to our prisons m large
flocks- Until tile situation changes and those that are profiteering in
crime are punished, I can see no relief*" Warden Codding of Kansas
says: *'The floating mechanic and arti<;an who during hard times gets
into places like this is not now coming. The adventurous criminal and
crook , - . is in the arEiiy instead of the prison." New York state
reports "a decrease in the population of the penal institutions, both for
young and old." Minnesota reports: '* There has been a large decrease
in the population of the prison and the refonnatory, perhaps to some
extent due to restrictive liquor legislation, and to a larger extent to
industrial conditions,"
Though from Illinois comes the report of an unexplained decrease
in the rate of increase of the insane, in New York and the east generally
the opposite situation prevails, of which the following report from the
Manhattan State Hospital may be regarded, perhaps, as typical; "Man-
hattan . . , is now enormously overcrowded » due to the large
admission rate, inadequate accommodation, the difficulty of obtaining
attendants and nurses ... the suspension of immigration which
in normal times supplied the hospital's requirements of administrative
help . . the lar^e number of alien patients whose repatriation
has been suspended." The problem of caring for soldiers and sailors
who become insane from causes not incident to the service has, appar-
ently, not yet become acute.
Juvenile Delinquency Increasing
Philadelphia, Washington, Des Moines, Kansas City, and Denver
report no notable increase in juvenile delinquency. But Buffalo reports
increased infractions of the schools attendance and labor laws, an **al arm-
ing number" of arraignments for stealing coal, and ''many children
brought into court as ungovernable or disorderly, especially among
those who are employed," New York city^ reports a "slight increase"
due "to the mothers going out to work," In Judge Hoffman's court,
Cincinnati, the delinquency causes between April 1 and November 1, 1917,
were 21 per cent, more than for the same period in 1916, but a material
decrease In the number of divorce cases is noted. In Cotumbus, Ohio,
delinquency cases among boys increased in 1914, and in 1917 the num-
ber was nearly 54 per cent, more than the average for the three pre-
ceding years. Detroit reports an increase of about 50 per cent in the
number of delinquency cases being handled monthly during the winter
as compared with the same period last year, Jacksonville, also, reports
a considerable increase in juvenile delinquency, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa,
Minnesota, and California juvenile reform schools report increases —
some "marked," "unprecedented" — in the number of requests for ad-
mission thereto.
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216 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
Sochi HygUne
Public agencies and institutions in those states in which soldiers
and sailors are being trained are undergoing severe strain, Virginia, for
example, with eight training camps, having a total population of 200,000
men, reports increased delinquency among women and girls, invasion by
hordes of questionable characters from other states, the breakdown of
the jail system due mainly to the inability of local authorities to deal
adequately with the venereally diseased prisoners.
Federal legislation for the protection of these men in training is
the most advanced of any of the allied nations. The President and the
Secretaries of War and the Navy are empowered and directed during
the war to do everything they deem necessary to prevent the sale of
intoxicants to soldiers and sailors and to suppress and prevent prostitu-
tion. The commissions on training camp activities of these two depart-
ments are one result, and the constructive work they are doing is a
splendid omen of progress in the field of social hygiene, civilian as well
as military^
Municipal and state authorities have co-operated with the federal
government in meeting this situation. Legalized segregated districts in
citi^ near soldiers and sailors in training have been closed. City ordi-
nances have been enacted incorporating the principles of the '^Mann
White Slave Act," requiring the licensing of lodging houses and registry
by true name in hotels and similar places. Since April 1, 1917, Con-
necticut, Kentucky, Mississippi, and South Carolina have passed injunc-
tion and abatement laws to deal with the property owner who allows
his property to be used for immoral purposes. Thirty -two states and the
District of Columbia have such a law now, and "a bill on this subject
will probably be introduced in the Louisiana legislature** this month.*
South Carolina and Michigan have followed Massachusetts in requiring
that certain venereally diseased persons shall be quarantined until cured,
Minnesota has organised a department of its State Board of Health to
which reports are made of venereal diseases and which is making a study
of the whole problem with reference to proper and adequate treatment,
prevention and constructive methods of control* In addition to Minne-
sota, Massachusetts and California have been especially active in efforts
to control venereal disease, a movement that has taken on new life now
that the American Medical Association, the American Public Health
Association, and the Army and Navy Departments have declared that a
life of continence is compatible with health.
To care for the prostitute and to protect the girls in those states
m which soldiers and sailors are training has taxed the available facili-
ties, especially in the South. But detention homes have been opened in
camp cities, and South Carolina's legislature of 1918 established an m-
dustriai school lor girls and an institution for the feeble-minded with
*Major B^com Johnson: Letter^ April £7^ 19IS»
Tcnmld: M^ial Hygwif, Vol. 1, No. 1, p. 10.
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STATE SUPERVISION AND CONTROL — JOHNSTONE 217
appropriations of $40,000 and $60,000, respectively* The Committee
on Protective Work for Girls, while under the chairmanship of Miss
Maude E, Miner, secured $250,000 of federal funds to be supplemented
equally by state funds, and to be used in assisting such states in provid-
ing institutional facilities for dealing with wayward girls and women,
Provtsion for Mental Defectives
The fact that investigations made by the Division of Psychology of
the United States Army, directed by Major Robert M. Yerkra, have
shown that approximately two per cent of the drafted and enlisted men
that have been mobilized are so inferior mentally as to be unfit for the
regular military service, together with the recognition of the wide preva-
lence of mental defect among confirmed prostitutes, those, therefore,
most likely to be venereally diseased,— these facts are stimulating the
nation-wide movement for provision for the feeble-minded* While state
care for this |;roup of unfortunates increased 753 per cent, in the twenty-
six years ending January 1, 1916^ still vastly more needs to be done/
Since that date, new institutions Involving appropriations and gifts
totaling $550,000 have been created in Arkansas, California, Delaware,
Louisiana (New Orleans), and South Carolina; New York appropriated
over a million dollars last year for new buildings and additional equip-
ment in existing institutions for the feeble-minded, and made provision
for a permanent commission on the feeble-minded*
Kentucky has enacted legislation re-organizing its state institutions
and appropriating $50^000 for new construction; bills to create institu-
tions are pending in Arizona, the District of Columbia, and Utah ; while
state commissions are at work in Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Montana,
and Wisconsin-
Moreover, an increasing number of cities throughout the country
are establishing special classes in public schools for mentally defective and
backward children, and ''Illinois is the first state in the Union to create
by law the position of state criminologist"* Mental clinics in connection
w^ith courts, prisons, and reformatories have been established in seventeen
states, including California, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Minne-
sota, Missouri, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington.'' Minnesota has
enacted a law providing for the commitment of the feeble-minded to the
care and custody of the State Board of Control, whether the alleged
feeble-minded person or bis relatives desire such commitment or not
The measure is designed to protect the community and to provide wise
and human care for those who arc mentally deficient. It recognizes the
right of the state to compel custodial care, where the circumstances make
it necessary.
Prison hahor.
On December 4, 1917, Senator Smith of Georgia introduced in the
United States Senate a bill providing for the employment of convict labor
*Mfniat Hygune, VaL I, No. S, p, 473,
■Kftt, Com. MenUl Hygicae; LetUf, April %Q, Itia,
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218 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
in federaK naval ^ military, state^ county^ and municipal penal institutions,
in the manufacture of war and other governmental supplies. A compan-
ion bill was introduced in the House by Mr. Booher. "The bill as intro-
duced into the committee was drafted by the officers of the American
Federation of Labor and the National Committee on Prisons and Prison
Labor with the approval of Secretary of Labor Wilson, and reshaped in
conference by the representatives of these organizations^ together with
representatives duly appointed by the War Department, Navy Dpart-
ment, and the Labor Department/' ^^ The legislation propo^d in this
bill had been previously approved by President Wilson. The bill, as
redrafted and reported out by the House Committee February 22, au-
thorises the purchasing agents of the federal government to place orders
with the heads of such penal institutions as arc "willing to undertake the
manufacture, production, and delivery of such supplies." Purchase of
such supplies from ''any person » partnership^ or corporation using in the
manufacture of such supplies the labor of persons convicted of crime and
incarcerated in a penal or correctional institution" is forbidden, though
it is provided "that all goods, wares, and merchandise manufacturedi pro-
duced, or mined wholly or in part by prison labor, except paroled prison-
ers or in any prison or reformatory," when shipped in interstate cxjm-
merce shall, upon arrival, except when sold to the federal government,
be "subject to the operation and effect of the laws" of the state or terri-
tory to which shipped, just as though they had been manufactured therein.
The "Secretary of War is authorized and directed, in his discretion,
to establish, equip, maintain, and operate in the United States Army
Prison and Disciplinary Barracks^ or its branches" factories to "manufac-
ture equipment or supplies for the United States Government" The
Secretary of the Navy is simiiarly authorized though not directed, to em-
ploy prisoners in the United States naval prisons. The use of army and
navy prisoners in military road making is also authorized. The Attor-
ney-General is "directed to establish, equip, maintain, and operate at the
United States penitcnriary, Atlanta, Georgia, a facto r>' or factories for
the manufacture of textiles, mail sacks, tenting, and other equipment for
the use of the United States Government;** at Leavenworth, Kansas, a
factory to make "furniture and office equipment;" and at McNeill
Island, Washington, "a pulp and paper mill for the manufacture of print
and other kinds of paper/' Purchase of the articles just named "from
any source other than Governmental for the United States Government
or any department, bureau, or other agency thereof" is forbidden after
July 1, 1919, "unless the Attorney-General or his authorized agent shall
certify that the same cannot be furnished by such prison factory or fac-
tories, unless otherwise provided by law/'
Compensation and hours of labor of these convicts are to "be based
upon the standard hours and wages prevailing in the vicinity" of the
institution. The pro rata maintenance cost of each prisoner so employed
^i^-liftli Congrcaa, End Session, Hausc of Reprfrstnt^tive*, Heport No, 33^, p^. h ^-
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STATE SUPERVISION AND CONTROL — JOHNSTONE 219
is to be deducted from his compensation, the balance to be paid him under
such rules and regulations as the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the
Navy, and the Attorney- Gen era! may effectively prescribe.
One effect of this measure, if passed, will be to repeal, at least,
^'when an emergency exists, or when war is imminent," an executive
order issued by President Roosevelt in 1905, by which both the Army and
Navy Departments were forbidden to use prison made tjoods. Another
effect will be the adoption by the Federal Government of the *'state use"
plan of prison labor. Further, the movement to compensate prisoners for
their labor may receive a great impetus, and the federal government's con-
demnation of the contract lease system should help to banish that plan
from all our states.
///, Concluding Considerations.
This survey of recent tendencies in state supervision and control, and
of the effects of the war upon public agencies and instrtutions, suggests
certain concluding considerations:
(1) A continuance of the present abnormal demands for trained
social workers may be expected. The task presented to our social agencies
is little less than the re-making of a world.
(2) Standards of institution administration must receive closer
study to increase the efficiency of available employees, and to use the in-
mates more largely in employment that is at once healthful and voca-
tional,
(3) Increased emphasis must be placed upon the prevention of
juvenile delinquency and the furtherance of child welfare.
(4) Social constniction must go forw^ard* at home. War has
absorbed our interest, our thought, and our energy; unless a balance of
effort and attention be maintained proportionate to the needs of the situa-
tion, our domestic social problems may be seriously affected. There is a
second line of defense at home.
(5) The inelasticity of legal agencies and the need for greater
accountability of non-legal agencies is being emphasised today. State
boards, for example, because of limited funds and detailed laws are handi-
capped in capitalizing their experience and knowledge, through expan-
sion, to play their part in training w^orkers, and in meeting other emerg-
ency situations. The various social agencies operating within the bounds
of a state should be co-ordinated around a state board or some other
organization of state- wide scope. The home service work of the Amer-
ican Red Cro^s — becoming more and more decentralized, reaching into
remote rural communities, setting new standards, emphasizing scientific
case work as essential in any w^orth while relief work — is full of sugges-
tion for the future. It is very significant that in this Conference at least
four divisions are holding discussions as to what should be the unit in
social administration*
(6) With the problem of administration assuming larger propor*
tions, some plan ought to be evolved by which these various units will
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220 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
work together to the greatest social benefit. Therefore your committee
suggests that a special ^ very representative committee be appointed from
thfs body to work out with the federal government, the American Red
Cross J and such other national organizations as may seem wise, plans by
which the public agencies and institutions of the various cities, counties,
and states may best co-operate with these national agencies in administer-
ing the common problems aggravated by the war, as well as the new
social undertakings of the government— ^uch as the care of the alien,
military and naval insane? relief to soldiers' families, rehabilitation, etc.
Such a committee should he able to evolve needed legislation, both fed-
eral and state, that would result in a nation-wide mobilization of the
social forces along well-considered lines of constructive effort,
(7) The war will not end victoriously unless a social victory fol-
lows the defeat of Prussian autocracy by the forces of America and her
allies. Great as have already been the problems of re- adjustment, the
task before the social forces of America, I^t the victories of war become
the spoils of peace, is more difficult stilL Thousands of men will return
from the excitement of the trenches to the pursuits of peace; their mental
and nervous reactions can hardly be predicted. Disease, injury, family
disruption must not result in that hopelessness out of which develops the
pauperistic attitude. Recouping of personal fortunes, regaining footholds
on the social ladder must not issue in self-centered living. The noble
patriotism of our soldiers, the high ideals for which they fight, must not
become the platitudes of the political demagogue. The militarism w-c
fight today must not saddle America tomorrow\ There is still a good
deal of human nature in men* If the world is really to be made safe for
democracy, if human iiature is to be purified, if those social snakes whose
poison is abroad in the w^orld today are to be prevented from propagating
their kind, then the best social, moral, and religious leadership of our
time must lead during the years of re-adjustment after the war.
The social forces of America have today the greatest opportunity
in their history. Yes, God helping us, we will meet the challenge.
BOARDS OF PUBLIC WELFARE j A SYSl^EM OF GOVERN^
MENT SOCIAL WORK
L* A* Halhert, General Superintendent, Board of Public Welfare^
Kansas City^ Missouri
In December, 1908, an ordinance was passed by the common
council of Kansas City which established a Board of Pardons and
Paroles of three members appointed by the mayor ^ which had the power
to parole prisoners from the city workhouse. In July, 1909, this same
board was given the authority to administer the workhouse and in
March, 1910, this body was enlarged to five members and given broad
powers to devise and execute plans to fulfill the duties of the city
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BOARDS OF PUBUC WELFARE — HALBERT 221
toward all the poor, the delinquent, the unemployed, the deserted and
unfortunate classes in the communtiy, and to supervise the private
agencies which solicited money from the public for these purposes. In
Au^stj 1914, the board was again reduced to three members by
ordinance.
Early Activities of Kansas City Board
Under its broad powers, the board moved the city workhouse to
the country and developed a municipal farm on which the prisoners
have built buildings and roads and established extensive vegetable
gardens, a cannery, a bakery, a sorghum mill, a shoe shop, a blacksmith
shop, a hog ranch, a modem dairy, etc. Funds have been spent at
various times as the appropriations permitted to pay persons extra wages
to help rehabilitate them or to support their families. A merit system
' with good time for industry and good behavior was secured by an
additional ordinance. The institution has full facilities for medical
treatment, for educational classes and for social case work with the
inmates.
A careful system of endorsement of private charities was set up
and for some time a confidential exchange or clearing house was oper-
ated in w hich all the leading charities registered their cases and a staff
of investigators to do case work for the various private charities, but
more especially for the Provident Association, was employed at the
expense of the board. The problem of non-support and desertion of
families was taken up and has been vigorously dealth with. In the
highest year, over $15,000 was collected in weekly installments from
negligent husbands and paid over to the families. The board has sev-
eral times spent as high as $200 to bring deserters back as far away as
Seattle, Wash., or Norfolk, Va.
Provision for the homeless and unemployed was made by arranging
for meals and lodgings at the City's expense at the Helping Hand
Institute and, in 1914, the maximum of over $17,000 worth of such
rtlki was given. An employment bureau was established and for sev-
eral years secured an average of about 30,000 jobs per year. During
the winter, a municipal quarry has usually been operated at which any
able-bodied man could work for meals and lodgings or for coal or
groceries for his family. During the first year of the board's history,
it established a free legal aid bureau which has continually handled
about 5,000 cases per year at an average expense of less than $1.00 per
case.
Seeing the great evils wrought by the loan sharks, the first presi-
dent of the board furnished the capital himself and opened a remedial
loan ajrency under the supervision of the board and has continued to
finance it till the. present time, and, for some time past, it has had loans
outstanding to some 1,500 customers, amounting to about $117,000.00.
During the first year of the board, an ordinance was passed re-
quiring all dance halls to have a permit signed by the president of the
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222 -^ PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
Board of Public Welfare before they could operate and, under this
general supervision, the board established a thorough system of inspec-
tion and supervision over all public dances. Soon fallowed an ordinance
extending this supervision to skating rinks. A couple of years later,
the censorship of all motion picture films exhibited in the city was
established and the same superintendent employed by the board to
supervise dances and skating rinks was chosen censor and now every
film exhibited in Kansas City is run in the board's projection room
before h is shown in Kansas City. Only a few months ago, an ordi-
nance was passed requiring all pool halls to have a permit from the
board before they can operate and prohibiting them all gambling and
forbidding the halls to permit minors to frequent them and the super-
vision of these is under the same department. Under this ordinance,
over 115 pool halls have been closed for gambling or other violations,
of the law and tbese constitute more than half of all the pool halls in
the cit>'. All this super\^ision of the commercial amusements is to raise
their moral tone.
Researfh nrul Edurniion
The original ordinance establishing the Board of Public Welfare
gave it general power to investigate the condition of living among the
people and, under this power, a bureau of sociological research was
established. This bureau first surveyed the charities of the city, in
which work it was assisted by Mr, Francis H. McLean, During the
same year, it made an extensive study of the social evil in Kansas City,
filling out individual schedules on 554 inmates of the 121 recognized
bawdy houses which then existed in Kansas City. A study of unem-
ployment was also made the first year. These three studies were pub*
lished in the second annual report.
In October, 1911, the hoard promoted a child welfare exhibit in
Convention Hall» which displayed the best ideas and activities alon^
these lines of both Kansas City and elsewhere. The attendance for the
ueet was approximately 100,000.
During the next year, a housing survey of Kansas City was com-
pleted in which schedules were made on about 6,000 houses, covering
all the older part of the city. During the progress of this survey, over
$60,000 worth of improvements were caused to be made on the houses
inspected.
An extensive survey of recreation in Kansas City was made by
Rowland Haynes, of the Playground and Recreation Association of
America, under the direction of this board.
After that, an extensive study of the conditions of working women
in Kansas City was conducted in which personal schedules were made
on over 2,000 working women,
A report of the social effects of one hundred industrial accidents
in Kansas City was compiled,
A comprehensive outline of all the social agencies and forces of the
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BOARDS OF PUBLIC WELFARE— H ALBERT 223
city was published under the title of The Social Prospectus of Kansas
City.
Subsequent studies have been made in regard to desertion and non-
support, the cost of workmgmen's houses^ the handicapped , child labor,
crippled child ren^ drug addicts, etc* A brief study of the problem of
delinquent women in Kansas City was made inI914 by Miss Maude
Miner of New York.
Missouri is backward as a state in her factory inspection law and
she still has it on a fee basis and poorly supported. Therefore, city
factory inspection was established as a function of the Board of Public
Welfare and yearly hundreds of safety devices have been installed and
T^ently many safety committees instituted.
In the foregoing, I have given you a bare outline of the scope
and achievements of the first Board of Public Welfare established in
the country. Not all the activities here enumerated are now being
operated, chiefly because of a shortage of funds, hut none of the authority
under which these things were done ba^ ever been repealed or abro-
f^ated and indeed, greater scope is likely to be added from time to
time as has been done almost yearly since the board was established.
The work of the Kansas City Board soon received wide public
notice and it hiis been followed by the establishment of boards and
departments of public welfare in other large cities as follows:
Chicago, St. Joseph, Missouri,
Cincinnati, St. Louis,
Cleveland, Dallas,
Columbus, Ohio* Toronto,
Dayton, Ohio, Edmonton, Alberta,
Grand Rapids, Michigan, Omaha, Nebra^ika.
National Public Welfare League
In connection with the extension of this Board of Public Welfare
plan and name, I should mention the work of the National Public
Welfare League.
In 19! 0, Rev, Theodore Hanson, who was greatly interested in
the problem of the social evil, gave considerable volunteer service to
the Kansas City Board of Public Welfare in making its survey of
the social eviL He came in contact with the general plan of the board's
work and began telling of it as he went from place to place, lecturing
in the mtrrest?^ of social purity, and found such an interest in it that
he gathered about himself a group of men who decided to organize a
league to extend the idea. His field of work lay at first In Kansas
and a board was formed in 1911 and J* K» Codding, warden of the
Kansas Penitentiary j was chosen president of the board. Soon the
policy of going to a town or city and definitely proposing an ordinance
to establish a board of public welfare and making a thorough campaign
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224 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
to get it passed, was adopted. This league was incorporated in Mis-
souri in 1916 and headquarters established in Kansas City and the first
president and the general superintendent of the Kansas City board were
elected to its board of directors. About fifty boards have been promoted
by the National Public Welfare League in Kansas, Oklahoma, Col-
orado and Nebraska,
5/^/^ and County Boards of Public Welfare
In the spring of 1912, the general superintendent of the Kansas
City board outlined a plan for county boards of public welfare for
Kansas, which were all to be coordinated under a State Board of
Public Welfare. The plan calls for the consolidation of all the social
work to be done by the county into one department with a skilled sup-
erintendent and a staff as needed. The contemplated activities include
outdoor relief, parole and probation work for adults and juveniles of
the county— whether released from the local courts or from state insti-
tutions— after-care of the insane, employment finding, child -placing,
truancy work, censorship of commercial recreation, public health work,
etc* In counties with no great cities, these things are usually either
neglected or made incidental duties of officers whose main interests lie
in other directions. They can never be skillfully done so long as they
are organized in that way.
This plan unifies and systematizes the social betterment work of
each county and concentrates it under one board. It provides a local
agency that comes in close personal touch with the unfortunate and
their problems in a way formerly only reached by a state agency at a
great distance.
Combining all the various kinds of social work makes it possible
to have at least one skilled social worker in every county, whereas it
is not practical to have in every county a juvenile probation officer, an
adult probation officer, a poor commissioner to administer outdoor relief,
an agent of the free employment bureaus, an agent for placing; depend-
ent children in foster homes, an inspector of commercial am u semen ts»
etc. But it is practical to combine all these functions in one good,
high-class I all-around social worker, even in small counties, and in
larger counties it is possible to have the force of workers adapted exactly
to the needs of the county*
In January, 1913, St Joseph, Missouri, succeeded in having a com-
bination city and county board of public welfare established for their
city by the state legislature. It has broad scope and has been operated
on a scientific basis from the beginning. About that time, Cook county,
Illinois, established a public welfare department and put it on a high
professional plane, with Miss Amelia Sears in charge; but its scope was
limited to the handling of relief cases,
Los Angeles county, California, under the liberal state laws which
give counties a large degree of self-governmenti established a county
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BOARDS OF PUBLIC T;VELFARE — HALBERT 225
»
public welfare departmefit in 1914, which includes among its func-
tions the administration of outdoor reHef on a scientific basis, admin*
ist ration of the almshouse, a children's home, special and general
hospitals and other public health work, and supervision of private
chanties. They have put their work on an eflficient professional basis.
Good, popular educational work has been carried on throughout the
various towns of the county, January 1, 1918, Fresno county, Cali-
fornia, established a comprehensive county board of public welfare-
North Carolina, in January, 1917, adopted the first comprehensive
law providinf^ for a State Board of Public Welfare and authorizing
county boards of public welfare in every county of the state. The
work of organi7.in^ the department and applying the law is only in its
infancy but it presents the first opportunity to apply this plan tn
rural counties, where I believe it is most needed and where the benefits
of consolidation would be the greatest;
In Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota and Calif ornia^ county
boards, for the care of children or with other limited duties, exist, but
in scope they do not fully exemplify the board of public welfare idea. ^
In Illinois, July 1, 1917, a law establishing a great state depart-
ment of public welfare, which had been adopted earlier in the year, went
into effect.
Natmnnl Department of PuhUc JV elf are
The board of public welfare idea is not yet ten years old, yet, as
this review shows, it has applied to town and city, county and state
governments in widely scattered parts of the United States and Canada.
It is equally adaptable to our national government. Inded, there are
already assembled in the Department of the Interior many of the
functions that would tend to justify calling it a National Public Wel-
fare Department. It deals with Indian aflfairs, with national parks and
forest reserves, with soldiers' pensions, with the great reclamation
service and with education.
In my judgment, it would be best to segregate the social work
or the national government in this department by giving to it the
Children's Bureau, the bureaus of Immigration, Public Health and the
Census; and as the social work of the national government develops,
r think it should be the policy of social workers to try to put it in the
Department of the Interior and make this the National Department
of Public Welfare in fact, if not in name-
All the social welfare work done by towns, cities and counties,
or even by private agencies in any given state, should be at least loosely
correlated, and co-operation and exchange of service and information
should be brought about by the state government through its public
welfare department; and the work of states should in like manner be
correlated and co-operation and exchange of information should be pro-
vided under the leadership of a national department. This would truly
constitute a system of govcrnnient social work*
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226 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTfTUTIONS
a
Board of Public Welfare Ideals
The board of public welfare movement has behind it the dynamic
of a great ideal which in a measure explains its history. The move-
ment proclaims a practical Utopia to be realized by doing scienttfic
social work on a large scale. This program is based on the idea that
social science and social invention can revolutionize society. It accepts
no misery as inevitable and no wrong as irremediable. It aims at a
new social order.
Since 1900, there has been a pireater development along these lines
than existed in the previous one hundred years* Miss Eva M. Marquis,
superintendent of the research bureau of the Kansas City board, made
a study of all the national organizations devoted to social betterment
propaganda and social reform which she could find. She listed ninety »
in all, and found that three- fourths of them had been organized since
1900. It is probably no exaggeration to say that the proportion of
governmental activities for social welfare that have originated since
1900 would be almost the same.
Firsti what has been accomplished in the way of preventing sick-
ness and prolonging life? The average length of life in civilized
countries is from 40 to 50 years. In the United States it is about 45,
in Sweden it has reached a maximum of 56, while in India and even
in Japan» ft has only recently been as low as 20 or 25 years r and this
difference is due to better measures for the promotion of the health of
the people. Or, if you wish to, you can compare the average length
of life in modern European countries fifty^ years aj?o with what it is
today and you will find that it has increa*^d from about 30 to 45.
And, if you want a still more recent example, you can compare modem
cities and find that they vary in the denth-rate for infants under one
year of age from 135 to 250 per 1,000; and you will find that where
infant welfare stations and careful inst motions have been introduced,
the death-rate for infants has been cut in two within a year's time.
This record of achievement in the prevention of sickness and death
ought to convince anybody that the measures are practical and thtf
propram is not merely a dream.
Let us see how we have progressed in the matter of the prevention
of vice and crime. It is interesting to read from the Anti-Saloon Leaj^e
Year Book that in the states where prohibition has prevailed for ten
years or more, there are only 84.4 prisoners in state prisons per 100,000
population, and in so-called near-prohibition states, where over 50 per
cent of the people live in dry territorj^ there are 115.8 prisoners per
100,000 population; and in partially licensed states, where only 25 per
cent to 50 per cent of the people are in dry territory, the number of
prisoners per 100,000 population is 118: and ]n license states, there are
130.3 prisoners per 100,000 people. The publication of the report of
the Chicago Vice Commission in 1^11 marked an epoch in the handling
of the social evil by cities. If time permitted, I could show that great
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BDAJIDS OF PUBLIC WELFARE — H ALBERT 227
progress had been made in the reduction of this evil. Prof. E. A.
Ross, of Wisconsin University has said the Chief of Police of Cleve-
land told him that he had been able to reduce the number of prosti-
tutes by about 90 per cent by taking away from them music, lights
and liquor. A committee on crime, of the Chicago common council,
headed by Prof* Charles E, Merriam, showed that the business of
thievery was organized and exploited by dealers in stolen goods and
gave data which would justify the conclusion, that if these exploiters
were suppressed, thievery would be reduced to a minimum.
These few brief hints tend to justify the conclusion that it is an
entirely practical program to stop the exploitation of vice and crime
and to practically wipe it out so far as normal people arc concerned.
When we supply complete custodial care of the defective classes, as
we will in the future and as we are now doing increasingly, the problem
of the elimination of crime will be practically solved. It is entirely
practical to achieve a sort of society where arrests for crime will be
very exceptional and where many units of government will not have
any arrests within a year; in fact, there are many such towns and
counties in Kansas and other states already.
Our progress in attacking the problem of poverty has been some-
what le^ marked, perhaps, than the progress we have made in attacking
sickness and crime. Poverty may be said to arise from three causes, —
misfortune, inefficiency and exploitation. There is no form of mis-
fortune but what can be covered by social insurance. Inefficiency is
being met by vocational education and guidance and by scientific man-
agementj in so far as details are concerned; and by conservation worki
agricultural bureaus and business consolidation in a wholesale way.
Exploitation is being curbed and offset by the Interstate Commerce
Commission, Industrial Trade Commission, the National Reserve Bank
Commission, the Income Tax, the Inheritance Tax and other forms
of government regulation.
Whenever we can secure even moderately intelligent people to
manage industry for the direct purpose of providing for the comforts
and luxuries of the people, abolishing poverty presents no ins\iperable
obstacles. It is not unreasonable to hope that the nation, whose me-
chanical inventors have given us the steam engine, the gasoline enginci
the electric lightj the telephone and the aeroplane, will have social in-
ventors equal in skill, and many of the dreams of the centuries may be
realized in this generation.
Government Efficiency in Social Work
The achievements which I have just been describing have been
largely dependent for their execution upon the government as an
ag€nc>% We are moving in the direction of government ownership of
social work. Many of the new social welfare activities of the various
government units have been established only after a thorough study
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228 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTlTUTrONS
has been made by a commission appointed for the purpose and after a
survey oi the facts and conditions has been made by trained social in-
vestigators.
What is the meaning of this, except that there is an attempt to
establish social action on a scientific basis? But this vast extension
of research work is not the only evidence that the government is trying
to establish these activities on a scientific basis. The municipal research
bureaus, established and paid for by the municipalities, and the com-
missions on economy and efficiency, which have been established in
various places throug;hout the nation, show the same tendency to put
not only the social work but all the work of the government on a
scientific basis. The civil service merit system has been extended by
leaps and bounds. Classes and schools for training the employees already
in government service have been established in many city departments
and the work of training people for the government service has been
taken up by the municipal universities of Cincinnati, Akron and other
places; and it will not be ten years before training courses for public
service will be thoroughly established in our system of public educa-
tion ^ and entrance into the public service will be increasingly made
through that avenue. There are thus many evidences that the society
of tomorrow is to be scientifically organized.
Apropos of this statement, I would like to comment on the gen-
eral reputation for inefficiency and graft which the government has
as an agenc>^ for doing things. There are two different agencies that
promote this slander with great vigor. One is the partisan political
organization which belittles the achievements of its opponents In order
to have its own representatives elected; the other is the great array of
public utilities, such as street car systems, water works, electric light
companies, railroads, etc-^ which are tr>^ing to stem the rising tide of
public ownership. They have a motive in representing that the gov-
ernment's work is inefficient and inferior to their own. While the
government has plenty of faults and deficiencies, I w^ould be perfectly
willing to place it side by side with the general run of private enter-
prises, and challenge anybody to show that there was either more graft
or more inefficiency in the government than there w^as in the private
enterprise, Mr. F, C. Croxton, formerly connected with the national
Department of Labor, has told me that various clerks connected with
his department gave several weeks of their time to the government
for nothing as a mere matter of patriotism in order to get out a certain
government report when the appropriation for that purpose was about
exhausted. The employees of the Board of Public Welfare of Kansas
City voluntarily proposed and accepted a cut of 25 per cent in their
salaries for three months near the end of the fiscal year in 1913 in
order to prevent the crippling of its activities.
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BOARDS OF PUBLIC WELFARE — HALBERT 229
Democratization of Social Work
While it may be true that the government needs some infusion
of unselfishness and scientific precision from social work, it is not
unlikely that some gains may be made by bringing the democracy of
the government into some of the realms of social work that have been
exclusive in management and limited in scope and condescending in
spirit. It is quite likely that, in some directions, it would result in a
regulation and standardization of social work that would improve it.
What would it mean to thoroughly democratize social work? Abraham
Lincoln's formula for political democracy was "government of the
people, by the people and for the people."
"Of the people" implies that the government is inclusive and uni-
versal in its scope. This phrase has to do with the extent of the
authority of the government. If we should apply this to our field, it
would mean that social work would keep within its purview the whole
population. Our objective must be the welfare of the people, not
merely of selected cases that come to our attention. The democratization
of social work means the enormous extension of social work.
The second phrase of Lincoln's formula is "by the people." This
has to do with defining where the authority to control and administer
the government is to be lodged. What does it mean to have social
work administered "by the people?" In the first place, it means that
it is henceforth to be supported by taxes, and that everybody must con-
tribute to build up a fund against the day of misfortune; it means that
each man has a right to the benefits of it when misfortune overtakes
him. It means that what was charity has practically been transformed
into social justice. It means that many little ill-advised and conflicting
societies will be wiped out and the duties of others will be assumed
by the government, and the cost of a good deal of administrative ma-
chinery and much of the expense of money raising will be saved. It
means that there are sufHcient available funds so that relief can be
adequate when it is necessary. Social work by the people means social
work by the government, the only agency in which all the pople have
an opportunity for equal representation.
The third phrase of Lincoln*s formula is "for the people" and
this is used to define the object and central purpose of the government.
It is to be for the benefit of the people. Social work has always ex-
emplified this principle of democracy in a high degree. It should be
the ambition of social workers to place the imprint of this standard
upon government and industry and every human institution. For, why
Is the obligation to serve any more binding on one than on another?
Let us undertake to apply Lincoln's formula of democracy to the
field of social work by establishing such a system of government sodal
work as I have outlined here.
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230 PUBLIC AGEKCIHS AND IHSTlTUTIONS
THE NEGRO IN RELATION TO OUR PUBLIC AGENCIES
AND INSTITUTIONS
J. L^ Kesier^ Dean, Baylor Unwersity, Waco, Texas
The Negro problem, public or private, industrial or institutiona!,
is a human problem. Until wc face the issue as human in its human
relations; until we think of all citizens as human beings with human
rights, human interests and human possibilities; until we insist upon
equality of opportunity^economic, industrial, educational, — equality
before the law, equal sanitary provision, equal protection of person and
property; until we become conscious of a common brotherhood and cease
to exploit the weak and to treat them as chattcb and property; until we
play fair and put justice into our program for less fortunate individuals
and races; until wc put democracy into our own life as we speed its splen-
did hope to the world, wc are not even in sight of a solution, and futility
faces our tasks of reform.
It is not simply a Negro problem. It is also a Caucasian problem.
It is not simply the * 'white man's burden." It is also the black man's
burden. It is a problem of both races. It is mutual. Its sototion means
mutual understand in f>s and readjustments. It means mutually a more
generous sympathy and respect, without which there can be no common
standing ground. Hate, distrust, suspicion are grounds of alienation
and war, but not of agreement, co-operation, concord, peace, Love^ con-
fidence, respect alone can build a loyalty and stability for racial, national,
or international solidarity and strength. It means, therefore, not only
new insights and ideids but new attitudes, both personal and public, and
a more delicate regard and consideration of racial courtesies. That race
which fails to respond to fine courtesy is already insolvent and bank nipt
of pre-eminence. This new attitude must not only be intellectually al-
lowed by the white people ^ it must be consciously felt and cuniniunicated,
so that a new atmosphere of dignity and freedom and possibility shall
meet and strengthen the aspiration of the Negro race and superinduce a
conscious self-respect and hope. By some such means alone may the
perils of two segregated races living in the same territory, with mutual
interrelations, be reduced to a minimum.
The greatest prejudice, with its incurable blindness, is found in the
lowest types of both races. The finer t}'pes of both races are thinking in
larger terms. More generous sympathies and more practical and con-
structive programs emerge for the healing of past years in proportion to
enlightenment and vision. What we need everywhere and anions all
races is a more general intelligence. With the disappearance of ignorance
and its paralyzing antaj^ontsms our problems will be greatly simplified.
But ignorance goes a thousand fathoms deeper than illiteracy and it will
take the highest type of culture to eradicate it and save us from its peril
and doom.
Of the 10,000,000 Negroes in the United States, about 9,000,000
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THE NEGRO IN RELATION TO OUR INSTITUTIONS— KESLER 231
live in the South. They constitute about one-tenth of the population of
the United States and about one-third of the population of the South. Wc
have not always in all sections thought together about this part of our
population. For one part of the countr>' to think t>f them in one way
and another part to think of them in another way, while perfectly natural,
is most unfortunate for both sections and both races. Every divisive
factor tends to weaken the nation ^s program of good will to all of its
citizens. While, therefore, on account of their numbers in the South,
they may be thought of as creating a problem peculiarly Southern, yet
on account of the oneness of the nation and the oneness of humanity the
sectional feeling and division of sentiment must be merged into a national
unanimity. There is no other solution. For what is of interest to one part
of the country is of interest to other parts of the count ry\ Wc are one
people^ however many nationalities or races we represent. We are one
nation, however widely separated by color or climate or craft. No part
suffers but every part suffers. No part limps but ever>^ part shambles
and halts in its progress. In the deepest sense, therefore, it h a national
problem.
There is no hope of unanimity, however, except on grounds that
are fair and just and generous. No partisan bitterness, no sectional bias,
no racial prejudice, no selfish insolence may enter into this larger hope.
A general friendliness is to take the place of racial antipathies. All citizens
are to be given the privilege of rising to their full height as human beings*
Intelligence is to dominate public sentiment and a kindlier religion is to
move in the minds of men.
There is no hope for the South if one-third of its population is to
remain undeveloped and inefficient. If the submerged third is to remain
ignorant, the South w^ill not only fail of one-third of its potential, but the
other two-thirds will descend in the scale. This is already apparent in
all quarters. If unsanitary conditions and disease are alhuvcd to plague
one-third of the population^ the other two-thirds cannot escape the con-
tagion. This the local death rate of lioth races proves to be true. No
community is safe while there is one neglected spot within it. No race
is safe from every wretchedness so long as it allows a wretch of alien race
beside its door to remain uncared for and unprotected. This is true
economically » industrially, socially, morally, Kvery injustice to the
Negro from public agency or private is an injury to the white man and
imperils the best interest of the national life.
If the Negro is to be a citizen, if he is to live anwmg us (and we of
the South like him, would not know how to do without him, and count
ourselves his best friends) , then we must give him a chance, and an equal
chance with atl others — not by handing things down to him but by help-
ing him to get \ap, not by working for him but with him, not by tips and
charity but by a fair wage and just treatment and proper recognition of
his worth. He asks no more, he deserves no less.
There are two kinds of w^hlte people in the South and two kinds of
black people. The better class of white people have generous sympathies
I
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232 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
for the black people and give them a fair d^^aL The other class make up
the moks are ignoranti often vicious^ m^iny of them guilty of or capnble
of the crimes of the brutes they lynch. Among black people, too, there
are good and bad. All "coons" do not look alike, except to the color
blind. Some are criminal and degenerate, just as some white people are»
Some are intelligent and clean and moral and progressive and splendid.
The criminal Negro is not to be taken as the representative of the race
any more than the criminal white man. Taking them all in all, they
have made a worthy record in this first half centurj' out of slavery. They
began Avith 90 per cent illiteracy and have reduced it to 30 per cent.
Starting with nothing they own 20,000^000 acres of farm lands and farm
property worth $500,000,000, They cultivate as farmers and tenants
41,000|000 acres and as laborers 60,000,000 more. NimicricaUy one-
third of the population, they till two-thirds of the land in the South,
Their total property is valued at $700,000,000. Fifty thousand of
them are engaged in professional work, as lawyers, dentists, physicians,
teachers. About twenty-five thousand of them are in government posi-
tions. They print over 400 newspapers and periodicals, have over 100
insurance companies, their 64 banks do a $20,000,000 business.
The Negro is here to stay. He touches at every angle every public
enterprise — business, industry, politics, education, religion, courts of
justice, public u^elfare organizations, social work. Living together, we
have innumerable contacts which must be mediated through public agen-
cies and institutions. It is necessary that these shall not only be fair and
just, but co-operative and efficient. It is a mistake to suppose that just
anything will do for the Negro, that he does not understand, does not see.
He does see and he does not forget. Nature docs not forget cithen She
fixes the penalty on the spot of the crime. "The moral law, the nature
of things,*^ as Emerson sa3's, ^' keeps its eyes \\\d^ open.*^
1. Educational Policy Fundamental
Our educational policy is fundamental. We have been accustomed
to consider all moneys spent on Negro education as a gift, and to con-
gratulate ourselves on our generosity, since in the last fifty years his taxes
were but a small part of his educati final apportionment. This attitude
is changing. Education is an investment according to needs and not
according to tax receipts. As a citizen he deserves, and necessity requires,
that he should have equal cd near ion a I opportunity with white citizens.
In the last fifty years the South has but meagerly provided for any
of her schools. Even now^ the scholastic per capita of California is
$36,30, \vhile that of North Carolina is onlv $4.16^ that of New York
$25.40 and that of South Carolina only $4.91
Still this does not relieve us entirely from censure for the too great
discrimination between the races. The average educational per capita
between the ages of six and fourteen in the South for white children is
$10.32» for the black children $2.89. The greatest discrepancy is in
Louisiana, where it is $13.73 for every white child and only $1.31 for
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tHE NEGRO !N RELATION TO OUR INSTITUTIONS — KESLER 233
every black child, Here^ too, illiteracy is highest for both races, 14,4
per cent for the white and 48.4 for the black. South Carolina
comes next with $!0.00 to $L44 per capita and an illiteracy of
10.3 per cent to 38-7 per cent. South Carolina is the second most
illiterate state in the Union. Every^where there is the greatest
discrimination coincident with the highest ilitenicy and the greatest
density of Ne^ro population. No wonder that the Negro h crj^ng
out for better protection, better education, better economic and
living conditions! No wonder that he has been migrating to the North
half million strong to better his chances and the chances of his children I
Money has been contributed generously, largely hy men of the
North, to private and denominational schools. These have in property
and permanent funds over $28,000jO0[) with an income of $3,000,000.
But only 4 per cent of Negro children attend these schools and only 7 per
cent of the children who are in school attend schools thus provided. What
does this mean? It means chat if Negro children are ever to be edncatedj
they will have to be educated in public schools provided by public taxes,
and made effective by compulsory attendance. This is the heaviest respon-
sibility and obligation of the educational forces of the South — providing
adequate school houses, equipment^ money, teachers, and keeping the
standards high not alone to eliminate illiteracy, hut to overcome ignorance
and to provide training for appreciation, character, efficiency ; to develop
good citizenship in the Negro not simply for safety and suppression ot
crime, but for race realization in sanitary, moral, and industrial progress
— making crime impossible hy eradicating or leaving behind the criminal
instincts and the roots of crime,
2. Sorial Eq unlit y an Ignis Fatuus
Those who want to keep the Negro down need to get up themselves*
Those whose social position h unquestioned need not be concerned about
**social equality," 'I'hosc whose social elevation is uncertain need cul-
ture and social enrichment, fine quaUtit's and nobfe natures, — -not barriers
set up between them and other races. Not position, but possession,
counts in the struggle for pre-eminence. Not fighting back and pushing
do%vn, but reaching up and climbing higher distance all competitors on
rival roads in worthy emulation toward splendid life. General social
equality is an rfw/V fntuus. There isn't any such thing anywhere in any
race. In all races there are fuj^her and ioiuer according to merit, and
social intermingling is attracted by compatabilityj congeniality and genu-
ine community of interest, or it is pure social camouflage and sham. In
the South neither tire Negroes nor the white people want to intermingle
socially. Racial integrity and social separateness are desired by both. To
raise the question, therefore, of racial equal itj-, or social equality between
the races, to says the least, is an incongruity and an impertinence- It is
irrelevant, childish, and unbecoming in noble natures. Here comparisons
are odious. They suppress noble and generous impulses and get no-
where- This social separateness by general agreement presents no im-
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234 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
plication of either racial valuation or indignity. The whole question
may be relegated to the low politician and the junk heap*
3. Equality of Opportunity and of ConvEniences
What the Negro does want and what the best white people of the
South want for him is an equal chance for personal and social develop-
mentt equal protection and security under the law, equal opportunUy,
economic, industrial, educational ^ equal courtesies, equal conveniences
and comforts in street cars, railway coaches, Pullman and dining cars.
And this he has never had. When he pays the same fare he wants tKe
same service. He ought to have it He likes a separate coach among his
own people, just as we do, but he does not want an inferior coach^ and
be does not w^ant the implication of inferiority. Nobody does* What he
loathes and detests is the constant reminder that be is inferior; that any-
thing is good enough for a *'nigger'*; that sanitation and sewerage and
police protection and paved streets and parks are not necessary for him;
that moral leprosy and segregated vice may preempt territory in his
community and be immune to civic interest and disturbance — nobody
cares; that he is discriminated against not on account of merit but on
account of color; that bis wife and daughter, if they are attractive — and
some of them are^— are not safe from insult on account of the lack of
racial respect and honon
4, Interranul Respect Necessary
Respect! Here is the solution — interracial respect.^ For lack of it
both races are in peril. We had a colored girl in our home. She had
college aspirations. We encourajjcd her and she w^ent to college. While
she was with us, I made a discovery. She was afrnid to be out on the
street after nightfalL She was afraid of white college boys. It was a
sad comment on the situation* The boys were supposed to take for
granted a Negroes easy virtue. Besides, between their social world and
hers a great guU was fixed » so that there was no restraining modesty.
Moral safety demands a deep and abiding respect for personality, inter-
racial, and among all inter graded social levels, if we are to escape the
moral backwash betw^een races and classes. Here we need a w^ider and
deeper democracy. We may be separate as races or classes or craftsmen,
but one as human beings and citii^ens, liut in all cases mutual respect
is the center and citadel of our safety and life — this conscious democracy of
the rights of mankind, as human beings, is fundamental and final.
5. Be tier Times Coming
A large number of the Negroes are accumulating property, are
living in good homes, clean, sanitary, with the comforts and some of the
luxuries of life, They love music, they appreciate art, they are educating
their children, they want a clean, moral, and wholesome communitj' in
w^hich to rear their children and enjoy the safety and comforts of home
life* They expect this and as citizens they have a right to expect it. It
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THE NEGRO IN RELATrON TO OUR INSTITUTIONS — KESLER 235
is coming* Every drop of the best blood of the South stands pledged to
it. As they prove theiTLselves capable of laying hold of and improving
opportunities there h a company of white men and women ^ daily growing
larger^ who are demanding these opportunities for them. More than that,
they are helping rhem to become capable and to take advantage of these
opportunities for the benefit of the whole community and the whole
nation. These are the men and women who have social sympathies and
social interests and who take part in and support all agencies and institu-
tions workmg; for the welfare of the community life. It is true that we
have not yet gone far in co-operative social work. The juvenile Negro
criminal and delinquent girl are not sufficiently provided for by either
private or public institutions; nor is there sufficient provision for the
juvenile offender of the white race. But the old way of making confirmed
cnminals out of this raw material is to yield to educational and preventive
measures. It is true also that sanitariums, fresh air funds, day nurseries,
sanitary prison reforms, settlement work, and public welfare enterprises
generally have too largely left the Negro out of count Co-operative
welfare agencies have made hopeful beginnings, however, in Louisville,
Ky., Nashville, Tenn., Atlanta, Ga., Richmond, Va., Columbia, S. C,
and a few other places. We are beginning to wake up. We are moving
toward a better day. We are beginning to see that the Ne|i;ro is our asset
or peril as we help him to rise or let him alone ; that he is to be an intel-
ligent and efficient citizen or the Nemesis of our neglect.
6. The Ne^^ro and Labor Organizations
The Negro has been discriminated against in industry, but the clouds
are lifting. Labor unions in the South have refused him admittance and
mobbed him as a scab. But the American Federation of Labor at its last
session (November 22, 1917) voted unanimously to recognize existing
Negro railroad unions in the South and to send a Negro organizer among
the thousands of Negro laborers. Southern white men were among the
first to endorse this new departure. As he becomes skilled and efficient and
feels the new breath and apostolate of freedom, he cannot be industrially
neglected, discredited or disregarded. Men who build homes, live
right, and are industrially independent will be respected, no matter what
their color. This new industrialism is to be reckoned with. It is not to
be opposed but educated and directed. If the South is to make the most
of its industrial opportunity and democracy, it must conserve its working
force. Intelligence and self-interest require it and humanity requires it.
Even here in this competitive strife, where life calls for co-operative
friendliness, the "human way'' makes its divine appeal. As Principal
Motion of Tuskegee has said, '*No laborer can give skillful, efficient, con-
scientious service when he is surrounded day and night by all that tends to
lower his health, to distort bis mind, to weaken his morals, to embitter his
spirit, to shake his faith in his fellow man," The "human way" is the
way outi
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236 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
7. Discrimination Before the Law and Mob Violence
We must acknowledge that there has been discrimination against the
Nej2rro in legislation ; but the law has not been so crooked as the execution
of the law. Even in politics he has been cheated out of his vote more
shamefully than if prevented from voting by crooked legislation. This
crooked politics hos reacted on the integrity of the ballot against the very
people who forgot to do right While justifying shady practices on the
ground of the necessity of securing a 'Svhite man^s government," they
were bringing in a blacker regime by their own duplicity than black
ballots could have ever delivered. They ftirgot that the moral law never
sleeps J and never forgets. This phase of our politics is passing-
But the most outstanding crime is lynching. There have been, from
1885 to 1916, thirty-two years, about 4,000 lynchings in the United
States, three-fourths of them in the South. In the first sixteen years of
this time there were never less than 100 a year, and, twice, the number rose
above 200, the average being 150, In the second sixteen j^ars the number
reached 100 only twice, the average being 70, less than half. This looks
hopeful. True, we hear more about it in recent years. The tragedies
seem to thicken. The fact is, we arc simply waking up. Our consciences
are quickened. It is the hour before sunrise. The sentiment is rising
and organizing against this hideous savagery and orgy of beastliness.
The battle is joined.
Still the fight is not over. There is a respectable number of people
who do not belong to the undenvorld, and who, if they do not openly
advocate lynch law, excuse it. They will not bring an offender to justice.
They are not moved with moral passion and indignation against it. If
they do not start the mob^ they follow itj and enjoy as high sport this
American diversion. Such men are not peculiar to the South, though the
South has suffered most from their atrocities. Nor is the Negro the only
victim, though he has been the chief sufferer.
In condemning mob violence the criminal is not excused from the
villainy of his crime whether Nc^ro or alien. But law must be made
supreme, justice more than a word on our tongues^ and life made sacred
and safe under all circumstances of excitement and of emotional stress
and storm.
8. The Negro as Soldier and Patriot
The Negro as a soldier in the present war will be more than an
episode in relation to his future history. He is by nature gregarious. He
loves a crowd. He fits into mass movements. He is the synonym of
loyalty. Pie is a typical patriot. He m^akcs a good soldier. He is fur-
nishing his quota of the American army. What effect will this war expe-
rience have on his public and institutional relations? Already the
atmosphere is changing, I dare not guess what breath will blow upon us
when the u ar is over. But this I know, the man who gives all a man
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EDUCATING THE PUBLIC — SESSIONS 237
can give for his country, his life, cannot be forgotten by the people; the
race that fits into the world program of democracy and liberty will find
a place and an appreciation, whatever its color or previous condition.
WHAT METHODS OF EDUCATING THE PUBLIC HAVE
PROVEN THE MOST EFFECTIVE?
Kenosha Sessions j M^ D.j SUferintendent, Indiana Girls' School,
Indianapolis
The methods of educating the public regarding their institutions may
be considered under tv^-^o headings, past methods and prospective meth-
ods. The past methods may be again classified under two heads, ma-
licious and benign.
Bad Education
Under the malicious methods of educating the public regarding
their institutions will fall all those rumors, false ideas and vague, terrible
imaginings which orijjinate in and travel through the air and find lodg-
ment in the minds of that portion of the population who are absolutely
innocent of any knowledjie whatsoever of a public institution. For some
rea?ion, that portion of the public which has never visited an institution
andf therefore, knows nothing about it, is always ready to believe the
most imposvsible thinjis, if they are bad, about an institution and are very
slow to believe anything; good they may hear.
Such articles as Children of the Shadow do incalculable harm be-
cause they tell only half die truth and because, while the writer has likely
one institution in mind and is trying to make public and, by that means,
correct the wrong there existing, yet the article is so indefinitely written
that it seems to apply to all institutions, and this same uninformed public
jumps to the conclusion that all institutions are alike badly managed and
grossly wrong. If wrongs exist and persist in an institution, by all means
they should be made public; proclaim them from the housetop if neces-
sar>' to get them n'ghted, — but let this public proclamation make clear
just what the wrong is and where it exists so that all institutions do not
lie under suspicion and shall not be thereby hampered and suffer in their
aims and purposes because of such suspicion.
It is unfortunately the habit of some newspapers to head-line on the
front page some alleged gross mismanagement of some institution and
when the investigation is finished and the management exonerated such
exoneration is printed in small type in an obscure place on the twelfth
page.
The false slogan, "The poorest home is a better place for a child
than the best institution," has traveled far and has done much harm. No
one has a keener appreciation of the home than the institution worker.
No one holds more sacred that divine institution, because the institution
worker has seen the finished product of the lack of home. But no one
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238 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
knows better the falsity of the above slogan than the institution worker-
The average county jail, bad as it is, h a better place for a child than
some of the homes known to those of us who deal with the children who
follow in the trail of "the great army of the defeated.*'
These are a few of the methods by which the public has been edu-
cated, cflecttvely and harmfully regarding their institution.
Goad Influences
The benif^n educational influences" have come through the public
presSp not in fulsome flattery of the management, but in articles that
state plainly and conservatively and truthfully the work done at an insti-
tution, the routine of the day, the method of keeping the inmates em-
ployed or entertained, the constructive work attempted along educational
and vocational lincsj and the methods of discipline. Every phase of the
daily life, if presented as it really occurs, would give to the average lay-
man a new conception of his institution, — for the average layman has a
vision of the inmate being delivered at the institution, closed in for a
period of months or jears and then sent out^ and all between the en-
trance and G\it is a dead air space.
Visitors to institutions should be welcomed and encouraged. They
should see for themselves- The more the public knows about an institu-
tion the better for the institution. The details of the methods of dealing
with the state wards should have a place on the program of the state
conference of charities and also the county conference. Classes in soci-
ology and psychology from the state universities and colleges should be
made welcome. Public school teachers should he an avenue through
which the public might learn truthfully about these wards and their care.
Grand juries, before their adjournment, do and should visit the institu-
tions within easy reach of the place of their sitting. The judges, by all
means, should have personal knowledge of at least the institutions to
which they commit charges.
A bill was introduced in a recent legislature in Indiana which made
it mandatory that the judges visit those institutions to which they com-
mitted wards. This bill, unfortunately, failed to pass. There are in
Indiana ninety-three counties. From ninet>^-two of these counties girls
have been committed to the Indiana Girls* Schooh One could count on
the fingers of one hand the judges who have done this committing who
have visited the school. Judges of other states may make a better show-
ing. It cou!d hardly be worse.
It would seem highly important that the judj^je, who is steering into
some harbor that priceless thing, youth, should have some personal
knowledge of this harbor, to guide him in his decision, to instruct this
youth as to the aim and plan and purpose of such places and to reassure,
by such explanation^ the parents to the end that the institution, the child^
the judge and the parents may understand each other and all co-operate
and work harmoniously for this child's future good.
And here let it be said and emph^ized for the education of the pub-
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•DISCUSSION 239
lie and especially that very important part of the public, the children,
that the juvenile court should be dignified. What impression does the
juvenile delinquent get of the majesty of the law, the certainty of justice,
the dignity of government, when he for the first time h brought face to
face with this most vital and majestic clement of our national life and
finds it enthroned in an obscure, dark, dirty rcrom of the court house base-
ment? This court is dealing with life at its beginning. All the child's
future depends upon the next turn. Is it not more important to impress
this youth, this one on the thresh hold of life, of sitizenship, with the dig-
nity of the surrounding of the Goddess of Justice, than to try to impress
those up'Stairs whose lives are far spent ^ and who are suing for divorce
perhaps for the second time, or tr>'ing to evade just debts, or up as
plain drunks? Is it surprising that the juvenile offender often acquires a
contempt for the law and becomes a recidivist? The juvenile court should
be inferior to no court in ability, dignity or majesty. So established and
exalted, its influence would be an effectual means of educating the public*
Summary
To summarize: The public should be made acquainted with the
most intimate details of its institutions through every legitimate channel.
The daily dealings, and unusual occurrences relative to the inmates,
should become a permanent record. There should be no secrets about
an institution — -a secretive atmosphere breeds suspicion.
Public officials should be required by law to visit all institutions
which connect up in any way with their ofpces.
INFORMAL DISCUSSION
1. Leon C. Faulkner, superintctKlent of the Maryland Training
School for Boys, Loch Raven, said that his institution at one time pub*
lished a paper which portrayed the life of the school. This paper at
the present time is not in circulation, owing to the lack of a printer.
The boy*s band has been loaned to local committees to head parades
in the campaign for war funds and early in the season the boys were
allowed to go out to work in groups to help farmers on nearby farms,
with the und*;rstanding that they would receive to their credit one-third
of the actual amount they made, the balance or two-thirds, to go into
the general fund to be used for the entertainment and amusement of all
boys, thereby not in any way exploiting boy labor, the results of which
were very satisfactory and materially helped in the discipline as only
high grade boys and those who were entitled to it as a privilege were
permitted to go.
2. H. H. Shirer, secretary of the Board of State Charities, Co-
lumbus, Ohio: The public, which contributes more or less of the funds
for the maintenance of public and private institutions and agencies, has
a right to know the quality of work done. The public should also know
whether the institution is serving the needs of the community. This
information can best be obtained by an agency without administrative
duties, preferably a board of slate charities or similar body, and trans-
mitted by means of btiUetins giving statistics and other facts. Institu-
tions are often subjected to unwarranted attacks, and they need the
protection of such oBicial agencies which can make investigations and
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240 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
bring reports to the public, stating facts as they exist It is not neces-
sary to relate all the petty items of gossip but rather stick to funda-
mental and essential matters.
3. Margaret F. Byington, assistant to the director general, Ameri-
can Red Cross, Washington: Public social agencies need to develop
the interest of the citizens as a whole, since on them they must rely
for support through taxation. It is somewhat difficult for a public
department to create general interest and understanding of its work.
Private agencies, which arc groups of representative, socially minded
citizens, can help to spread abroad an understanding of what the pro*
gram of the public department is and why it should be supported.
Public departrnents may well make further efforts to secure this kind
of publicity through private agencies. There should be the closest re-
lation between public and private agencies in the same field,^ in order
that they may develop common standards and a logical division of
responsibility within their fields. The two should not be rivals, but
should jointly work out their program. For example, in a recent
survey of the public and private charities in Rochester, N. Y., a divisioJi
was carefully worked out as to the types of family problems which
should be dealt with by each group of agencies, instead of having both
of them working with the same families, thus wasting cnergi" and les-
sening efficiency.
4. George L. Warren, secretary of the Charity Organization So-
ciety of Bridgeport, Conn.: Bridgeport has been unique in the interplay
between public and private agencies because there, contrary to the gen-
eral trend from private to public endeavor, the interest in constructive
work with families expressed itself first in a reorganization of the De-
partment of Public Charities instead of in the creation of a family
helping agency under private auspices such as a Charity Organization
Society. In this reorganization a trained social worker was made sup-
erintendent ol the department. He soon found that it was impossible
to establish recognized standards of family care without the aid of a
private agency. His recommendation that a charity organization society
he formed met with an immediate response from the community and
then public department and private society joined hands in expressing
the community's desire for higher standards by the application of known
case work methods to the bread line that had been in existance for
years, under the old public department regime.
Naturally there were false starts and missteps. A change in admin^
istration endangered the development in the public department, but the
Charity Organization Society was able to help out sufficiently in arous-
ing public sentiment to bring a continuation of the direction of a trained
superintendent. Later the Charity Organization Society, led astray on
the sidepath of the problem of industrial housing, had so weakened
its family case work program that the community was rapidly losing
confidence in its effectiveness. The public department returned the com-
pliment, stepped in and helped to bring about a reorganization in the
Charity Organization Society that resulted in further progress and
development.
Later again the Charity Organization Society helped the public de-
partment over a second change in administration that threatened itF
development.
Public and private agencies arc now working hand in hand in an
attempt to discover for the community its causes of poverty* bring them
to light and eliminate them by sympathetic, cooperative action. The
development in both agencies has been extremely healthy during the
past four years. The Charity Organization Society is concentrating on
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THE COUNTY IN CHARITY WORK — CURRY 241
certain special problems such as tuberculosis, the deserter and widow-
hood, and is quick to turn the responsibility for their general care over
to the Department of Public Charities as soon as the public, through
its common council, makes adequate provision for their care. In bring-
ing about this development the weekly case conference at the Charity
Organization Society has been an effective tool in raising and main-
taining standards. Through newspaper publicity and continuous speak-
ing in churches and before civic bodies the interest of the public in its
tools, both public and private, has never been allowed to wane. Ad-
vantage has been taken of every community accident such as an epidemic
of streptococci infection and an epidemic of infantile paralysis to keep
the pubh'c interested in its community problems and to encourage it
to take the next definite logical step.
5. Prof, Demarclms C. Brown, member. Board of State Charities,
Indianapolis, questioned a statement in Dr. Sessions' paper. He asked
if she intended to convey the idea that the public should know every-
thing that goes on in the institution. He believed that there were some
thingg that the newspapers should not have because they were made
to sell and not to give facts. The welfare of the institutions could often
be best served by sl supervising board assisting in correcting many
things without publicity.
6. Dr. Sessions replied that she agreed with this statement, and
meant to convey the idea that a complete record should be kept and
should be available for legitimate purposes.
7. E. S. Hinckley, superintendent, State Industrial School, Ogden,
said that last year three hundred college students visited his institution,
including students from the State Agricultural College interested in the
observation of farm operations. Juvenile court officers of the state hold
a conference at the institution annually.
8. Mrs. Frances F. Morse, superintendent of the Minnesota School
for Girls, Sauk Center, spoke of institutional exhibits at the State Con-
ference of Charities in her state, as affording a splendid means of
publicity.
9. Benjamin F. Merrick, president of the Social Welfare Associa-
tion, Grand Rapids, Michigan, described the unification of public and
private philanthropic effort in that city through the establishment of a
special department under the new city charter, saying that the success
of the scheme depends ultimately upon education of the public, from
whom must come the^ necessary revenue.
10. Others participating in the informal discussion were: Robert
W. Kelso, Boston; Amos W. Butler, Indianapolis; Homer W. Borst,
Jacksonville. Fla.; J. Bruce Byall, Philadelphia; Rev. John R. Maguire,
BourbonnaiSj III.
THE COUNTY AS A UNIT IN CHARITY ADMINISTRA-
TION; ACTUAL EXPERIENCE
H. Ida Curry, Superintendent of Children's Agencies, State Charities
Aid Association, New York
As the law^, and the even more binding traditions of New York
stHtc have fixed the county as the unit of poor law administration, we
perforce have had to use this unit when formulating programs to improve
public chanty administration throughout the state. Our State Board
of Charities has held itself, under the present law, to be a supervisory
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242 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
body and not an administrative one, so that we have seen no such devel-
opment in puWic charitable administration as has been so notable in
many other states.
Plan of State Charities Aid Association
The private association which I represent, the State Charities Aid
Association, has been pushing a county work for children which has
obtained results that have been most gratifying in the 20 counties in
which it has been adopted, and which has pointed the way to a more
complete county program for child care. Briefly, the county plan is
this: A group of public spirited citizens of the county are organized
as a county committee of the S, C, A, A. This county committee enters
into a formal agreement w^ith the county board of supervisors and the
county superintendent of the poor under which, in return for an appro-
priation toward the expenses of the work, the committee becomes an
assistant to the superintendent of the poor. The committee then employs
one or more trained social agents who assist the superintendent of the
poor in caring for children in need of public support or protection. These
agents investigate the family circumstances of children before they are
accepted as public charges, planning for their temporary and for their
future care,-^ometimes in their own homes^ sometimes in boarding
homes, sometimes in free foster homes, or in hospitals, state institu-
tionSj or elsew^here.
As the state is as small a unit as seems practicable for the best
placing out work, the children who have no prospect of finding suitable
home care with relatives are referred for placement in foster homes to
the placing out department of the S, C A, A,, to the Children's Aid
Society, or to the recently organized Catholic S, C, A. A in Albany.
The agent is most frequently the only trained social worker in the
county, so she soon becomes a general social handy man — or handy
woman— in the community » and we find her acting as probation officer,
as prosecutor in a neglect case, as investigator for the board of child wel-
farCi which grants pensions to widows, or of the home service section
of the Red Cross. She is asked by the district attorney to interview the
women prison ers, especially those whose difficulties are of a domestic
nature. She detects and sends to institutions lar^c numbers of mental
defectives, and presses the prosecution of men and of women who are a
social menace to the community*
Generally, before the employment of such an agent the poor law
official accepted as public charges as few children as possible, frequently
leaving them in most distressing circumstances, rather than add to the
expenses of the county, the amount of their support in an institution*.
The accepting of a child as a public charge meant, usually, that the
county must pay from $200 to $400 a year for a long term of years.
The institution to which the child was committed was usually in a
distant county, and the good people in charge had no way of determining
the home circumstances of the child in order to know when it should be.
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THE COUNTy IN CHARITY WORK CURRY 243
released to relatives j nor could they tell when the home circumstances
were so intolerable that the chiitl should never be returned thereto. And
so children in large numbers have been supported in institutions for
longer or shorter periods, and have then been returned to most unwhole-
some and immoral surroundings. With an agcnt^ the future as well as
the present need of each county child who is in an institution is kept in
mind J and an effort is made to work out some plan for its permanent
good.
Ne^v Plans
The county agencies^ effective as they are, do not^ however^ present
a complete program for child care»
Following the suggestions of Mr, Carstens' historic paper on
A Community Program for Child Care^ given at the Baltimore Con-
ference, we are gradually tr^^ing out a modification of his plan, using the
county as the unit of administration. Early in 1917 we secured the
passage of a special law creating a Dutchess County Board of Child
Welfare, which was organized and began its work on March 1, 1917.
This board consists of 10 members— four county officials, — the superin-
tendent of the poor, the chairman and two other members of the board
of supervisors, and %\x citizens to be appointed by the county judge. To
this County Board of Child Welfare was turned over all the powers
and duties of the poor law officers as they relate to children, and also
the powers and duties of the county board which administered pensions
to widows. In addition, it v;as given responsibilities not hitherto placed
on any public official or board. In fact, it became responsible for the
care of all destitute, neglected ^ delinquent^ and physically and mentally
defective children. All money that had been appropriated for the care
of children during that year was also made immediately available for its
use. The board retained the agents that had been employed by the
Dutchess county committee of the S. C* A. A.* and it has been keen to
maintain the high standard of child care set by that committee during
the seven years it had directed the work.
To complete the county program, we need a county juvenile court,
but for local political reasons it is impossible to secure this immediately.
We have, however, just secured the passage of a county juvenile court
bin for Chautaufjua county, where a county agency has been active for
se\'en years^ and we are now oragnizing an active campaign to introduce
the Dutchess County Board of Child Welfare plan into that county next
year. We hope thus to have at least one cuunty in which there will be
a public child welfare program that will approach completeness,
Westchester county has developed a different form of organization.
By special law, the superintendent of the poor has become the county
commissioner of charities and corrections. As such, he administers all
of the county institutions, — the almshouse, the hospitals and the peni-
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244 PUBLIC AGENCIES ANB INSTITUTIONS
tcntiary. His child welfare department is an exceedingly efficient organi-
zation with a director^ assistant director, and some 30 investigators and
office assistants* A psychopathic department has also been organised.
The child welfare department makes the investigation of all children who
arc public dependents or for whom public support is asked ^ and also
administers relief to needy mothers with children. The investigation of
neglect cases is handled by a County Humane Society » so that the pro-
gram for child care in Westchester co\inty is not as inclusive as is that
which has been developed in Dutchess county under the public Board of
Child Welfare. A county children's committee, composed of very^ rep-
resentative citizens, assists wnth the work and its interests extend beyond
the children officially coming to the commissioner of charities for care,
PersonaUtf in Ad mink t ration
The administration of a complete program of child care by a public
board seems entirely practicable^ but its success will always depend on
the character and fitness of the field agents, as does the success of any
social endeavor.
In New York we have helped the State Civil Service Commission
work out a type of examination which tends to insure only competent
agents bein^: certified for appointment. The most recent examination was
open to women between the ages of 21 and 35. They must have resided
in the state for three months ^ and must have an education equivalent
to a four years high school course, and in addition at least one year's
training in a school of philanthropy, or its equivalent, or one year of
practical field work,
A written examination was given which carries a relative weight of
three points. Experience and personal qualiiications each ranked as two
points. Questions for the written examination were suggested by some-
one familiar with the work to he done, and were sufficiently technical to
exclude those unfamiliar with child problems. As a person having some
Irnowledge of social work in New Yf>rk State, I was asked to make the
papers, to assist in rating the education and experience, and in conducting
the oral examination which is to be given to determine the personality
of the applicants, and their general fitness for the work. This examina-
tion has not been completed, but from the written papers it seems prob-
able that about 10 out of the 28. candidates will prove to be entirely
qualified to fill the position.
Some of the newer states in the West are fortunately in position to
build up new proi^rams for social betterment along whatever lines seem
best. We in the older states of the East must spend much time and
energy, in undoinj^ lon^ established methods, and WT can but put forward
the program that is pracikahle. In New York state, however, we can
at least report progress.
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THE ecu NT V IN SOCIAL WORK — BORST $^
THE COUNTY AS A UNIT IN SOCIAL WORK
Homer W. Borst, General Secretary, Assodaied Charities, Jacksonville,
Florida
The usefulness of an excellent survey may be greatly impaired
through neglecting to carry out its provisions. Our organization^ the
Associated Charities of Jacksonville, h trying to compensate for the
shortcomings of a rapid and, in many respects^ incomplete survey which
we made of the relief work of the Duval County Commissioners last
summer, through staying hy until its findings are worked out in the
complete co-ordination and unification of all the outdoor relief of the
county, both public and private.
Surt'ey of Duval County^ Florida
Duval County, Florida, is approximately forty miles long and
thirty miles wide. Its population may be estimated at 115,000. Of
these 75jOOO are within the city proper; 25,000 additional are within
the metropolitan area outside of the city, and 15,000 more in the re-
mainder of the count)% Fishing, truck gardening, working in saw mills
and turpentine camps, and general farming are the chief occupations out-
side of the cit}^
When we undertook the ?!unw the county commissioners were
granting assistance to approximately 150 families throughout the city
and county. We looked into the condition of 100 of these.
Three very bold facts stood out immediately upon the completion
of our rapid study. First, the county officials were giving money to
many families which did not need relief. Second, they were giving in-
adequate relief to many which did need assistance, and utterly failing to
supply the case-work assistance which should have been available. Third,
the count>^ lacked institutional as well as case- work facilities, notably a
county infirmary, and a county tuberculosis sanitarium*
Of course all these facts had been known by the social work group,
but the survey gave the facts a very demonstrable basis*
We divided our families into two very natural groups, the white
and the colored. There were 72 white and 28 colored > and
that I believe represents a very fair statement of the proportion existing
between our colored and w*hite dependents in a population which is half
white and half colored. The white families proportionately far exceed
the colored as charity problems. On this point we find that deserted
women and children, widows, orphans, families handicapped by lUnesSp
and many other types of family defeat as they are known among the
white clients of our office^ are fairly well sw^al lowed up \n the life of
the colored community on the basis of blood and neighborhood relation-
ships. The aged colored come to us^ partially because of the infidelity
of children and partially because of the extreme and uncompromising
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245 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
desire of many to remain in their own little homes and accept only such
aid as can be given them there.
We next marked carefully the distribution of our families through-
out the county. Over three-fifths of the county relief funds we found
being used within the metropolitan area of Jacksonville. This relief
represented almost one- third of the entire relief budget being expended in
that territory and was absolutely uncoordinated with the other two-thirds
which came from the Associated Charities and the Board of Charities
of Jacksonville. For this estimate we made use of all of the families
receiving county aid, and not only those intensively investigated*
Turning again to our classification of white and colored ^ we broke
each of these groups into three sub-groups. First came those which we
meant to have dropped from the county aid and accorded no further at-
tention. Second J we placed a group of families which needed construe*
tive aid, of both a financial and service nature; and (htrd^ came a group
of aged and infirm individuals and couples which we called institutwnal
to indicate that if there had been an infirmary available for them we
should have asked them to enter it,
Modtficalions of Treatment Recommended
Of our 28 colored families we recommended that 5 become closed
cases on the basis of care by relative, property, or other natural resources.
These were all old people. We recommended that 12 additional fami-
lies, aged or physically handicapped couples and individuals, be consid-
ered case work problems. Of these nine owned their little homes.
Because of contai^ious disease or other infirmities we pronounced the
remaining 1 1 of the 28 colored families subjects for institutional care in
an infirmary — -which does not yet exist. Those who are still alive when
our projected institution is available w^ill be offered a home there.
Of the 72 white families^ 20 were recommended for closing imme-
diately, 34 were excellent case-work problems, and the remaining 18 we
recommended for institutional care, and for out-door relief under super-
vision until our suggestion could be carried out.
In the 34 white case work families there were 17 widows, 4 deserted
mothers, 26 individuals needing medical attention^ 2 feeble-minded
people, 9 instances of relatives able to assist but not doing so^ 9 instances
of unemployment, 1 alcoholic, and in three of the families were open
cases of tuberculosis receiving no adequate oversight.
You will have foreseen the recommendations which we were able to
make to the countj"^ officials. First we asked that the 26 families which
did not need assistance be cut off. This we said would release 25 per
cent of the funds. An additional 25 per cent we prophesied could soon
be released by providing case work on the 44 white and colored case
work families* Our second proposition was therefore that the county
commissioners take advantage of the ca.se work service of the Associated
Charities in connection with these families* Our third was that they
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THE COUNTY IN SOCIAL WORK — BORST 247
complete the county infirmary without delay. None of our suggestions
were carried out
City and County Employ Trained Workers
A new attack was suggested by our experience in organising the
City Board of Charities, the social service department of the city. We
had begun in that field by offering our services to the city relief com-
mittee of the council. When through charter changes this committee
was relieved of power and their functions turned over to a quasi-political
board of seven citizens, our plan went rapidly forward. We began again
by giving this board the services of a trained social worker, and shortly
thereafter she was taken over on the city pay-roll. Our experience with
her taught us the value of a friend at court, of the advantage of working
from the inside.
One day we appeared before the county commissioners and offered
them the services of a social worker, free of cost, to be their very own,
"Beware the Greeks though bearing gifts." Our plan went through.
Now, social work in our county is very difficult work. I think
that when we first began to speculate about it we were like the people
who dream of the back-to-the-farm movement for the city poor. We
talked of farm loans and fertilizer. Acting on some such notion a
northern family recently brought a feebleminded son to our state and
set him up in agriculture in the midst of a five-acre patch of sand.
Climate will not do everything, and neither will agriculture.
Characterization of Cases
We have all the usual and some unusual types in our country work.
The widows arc there, and their children tend to be more neglected,
more overworked and underschooled than they would be in town-. 7^he
immoral are out there, and those infected with tuberculosis. Pellagra,
and hook-worm trouble us» but more significant, in many respects than
the type of family distress 15 the nature of the typical family stocky the
cracker. The cracker is the native Floridian. The decadent examples
which come to us in our county work are the shy, stubborn ^ soft-voiced,
simple-minded natives of the creeks and the back-woods. Many of them
live in almost inaccessible corners of the landscape, and are to be found
only after the most careful search and inquiry. As many as seven of
such related families have been found to be receiving county assistance,
and to have a very definite connection to the political situation.
The isolation of county families makes case work arduous. The
families are hard to reach. Even a Ford gets tired. They are far away
from the dispensary and the hospital. For them the facilities are hard
to reach. They are comparatively individualistic and unamenable to
influence and suggestion. They are not subjected to the close scrutiny
of theiT kind and are not held up to certain social standards through
close social contact
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PUBLIC AGENCIBS AND iNSTlTUXrONS
Reasons fur County Social Service
In spite of the difficulty of the work, however, I want to present
the following brief arguments in its behalf and in favor of the county as
a unit in charity administration.
Firsts county families are just as human as city families and arc
entitled to as much consideration in respect to their social needs as are
the families of Clinton district, New York City, for example. Unfortu-
nately^ I suspect it is better in many respects to be poor in Clinton dis-
trict than in the fringes of Duval county, Florida.
Second, if oncvis thorough in his ambitions^ the thought of neglected
social work fence corners is unbearable. The county represents a geo-
graphical unit which is at all points contiguous to another unit of the
same sort, or to a natural barrier against habitation; for example, the sea.
The problem of bringing social service to all the people is very simple,
geographically. The only requisite from that angle is to organize all the
counties, i
Third, so long as there are social weed patchy in the count ry^ the
results will make themselves known in the city. Every small town
worker knows that her worst problems are in the suburbs. If the work
of the associated charities stops at the city limits, its workers can never
hope to reach in the early and hopeful stages of their misfortune the
families which will later drift across the line and becomes chief among
the troublesome problems. However, once the city limits are crossed,
there is no natural stopping place, in at least many instances, short of the
county line. That was the case with US| and once we had stepped over
we went the limit* The county health officer is a recognition of this
principle in public health, and the zone health officer sent by the United
States Public Health Service to every army cantonment to clean up the
territory surrounding the camp, for the sake of the men inside. Of
course, a more admirable argument is my first one. For the sake of the
direct social service the county job is well w^orth doing regardless of the
reaction upon the urban population involved ; but it is well to remember
while we are analyzing the problem that the urban population is involved.
As a fourth point, let me suggest that the county unit presents
mechanical advantages in the delicate matter of the coordination of
facilities* You may be surprised to be reminded that the county com-
missioners have already been doing social work throughout the whole
of their counties, long before a case work program may be projected*
With us their work includes the city as w'ell as the country districts, as
I have said. Unless such county commissioners as we possess are assisted
by a force of case workers you will easily agree they are producing poverty
faster than a battery of independent case workers can cure it. Outdoor
relief is not the only one of the public facilities that needs to be coord i*
nated with the community scheme. The county infirmary, the county
hospital^ the county tuberculosis sanitarium, must be brought into har-
mony, and related to the family case work basis of social work. Arbitrary
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tHE COUNTY IN CHAfelTY WORK — DAVENPORT 249
rules regarding residence, property, color, or what not, give way before
the revolutionizing force of case work discrimination.
As a matter of fact, making county officials see that the administra-
tion of charity is a problem, and not a routine, is good for the county
commissioners and good for the government which they represent. The
charity funds of the county have frequently been known to constitute a
real source of demoralization, especially at election time. Harmful as
careless giving is to the recipient, it may be still more blessed to receive
such than to give. Now I do not wish to be understood as assuming
that politics can be made safe for case work through any easy process. I
am merely stating my conviction that it is a very important element in the
success of the political order that it set about realizing the direct and
indirect benefits of a case work program of its own.
Finally, there is this to be said for the county unit. The city we
will grant is not sufficiently inclusive for our purpose.
The choice then lies, if we neglect specially laid out geographical
units, between the county, a group of counties, and the state. Some
social facilities need state-wide organization of course; for example, the
state board of health, or the state board of charities. For others, a group
of counties may form a convenient unit. Possibly in a program of con-
structing tuberculosis hospitals this may be the case.
When case work is concerned, many considerations indicate the
desirability of not too large a unit. One is the desirability of rendering
good and uniform service. Another is the necessity for the support of
an informed and active public opinion. A final one is the loyalty to
public causes which is possible only on the basis of a strong sense of
group self 'interest, pride and responsibility.
THE COUNTY AS A UNIT OF CHARITY ADMINISTRA-
TION
William H. Davenport, Secretary, Prisoners' Aid Association, Baltimore
The county is the most logical unit for charity administration in
the rural districts, for sevetal reasons. It is almost everywhere the judi-
cial unit. A very large part of social work in the counties must center
around the courts, particularly the juvenile court, and in most states the
county is the limit of the jurisdiction of such courts. The county is, in
many states, also the unit for medical organizations, and people are ac-
customed to thinking of it as an administrative unit in medical matters.
It IS also almost everywhere a unit for certain kinds of taxation. All of
these would seem to make it a logical unit for work.
However, the niost important reason for regarding the county as a
unit is the nature of social case work in rural communities. The per-
centage of cases needing material relief in rural communities is consider-
ably smaller than that in cities. Out of a year's work in one of the rural
counties in Maryland, one hundred and one cases were definitely worked
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2S0 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
out, fourteen of these being out-pension cases turned over by the super-
visors of outdoor reh'ef for the countj^. When these were worked out it
was found that only five of the fourteen cases which had been on the out-
pension lists were really in need of public relief; and of eighty-scvtn
cases reported in other directions only three were found to be cases in
which relief xvas either necessary or expedient
The country community is much more closely knit than is the city
community^ and the demarcation along economic lines is very much less
marked. Cases of relief are dealt with by the neighbors — they are almost
always known to them. What is needed is service in various lines,^ — ^and
a social case worker has far more to do in the way of service than fn the
way of administration of material relief. The population and size of the
county would seem^ in most of our states, to indicate that it formed a
natural unit both fn size and in population for the purposes of a worker,
What I want to emphasize is that the great need in rural communi-
ties is not for material relief, as given by supervisors of the poor^ or other
agents, but is for a trained, capable social worker who can give service.
It makes very little difference under what auspices this worker is em-
ployed, and whether she approaches her work from the medical side^ as a
public health nurse, or from the legal side, as a probation officer of either
the juvenile or criminal court, or as a case worker for a charity organiza-
tion. What is really best is a combination of all three.
The average rural community^ at least in the South, is unable to
employ the large number of workers neccssar>^ for any such division as to
kinds of work as wc liave in the city, Wc must develop for rural
work a type of worker who is not a spec ialistj— one who is capable of
handling any kind of social problem which comes to her^ with the under-
standing that wherever necessary additional and more escpert help can
be called in.
THE COUNTY AS A UNIT IN CHARITY ADMINISTRA-
TION: OUTDOOR RELIEF*
George A. H^ at field. Professor of Sociology and Dean of the School of
Commerce, Denver University j Author of ''Ouidof^r
Relief in Alissotiri"
Investigation has revealed the most blundering unreason in the treat-
ment of the rural poor. Great progress has been made in recent years
in charity organ i?.ation work in our cities, but rural relief still continues
for the most part to be administered under old traditional and unscientific
methods.
Abuses Disclosed by Missouri Study
Just what are the evils of unorganized rural poor relief? The fol*
lowing are some of the most important:
L The utter lack of adequate or intelligible records. Little doles
♦Extracts frotti complete pmpct^
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THE COUNTY IN CHARITY WORK — WARFIELD 251
are given to all who^ claims arc strongly enough put by people of influ-
ence^ but adequate relief is given to none.
2. Neglect of the most needy and important cases.*
3. The third evil is unnecessary, demoralizing aid to the more
persistent and brazen beggars. Without investigation, case work,
friendly visiting and permanent records it is inevitable that this sort of
evil will accumulate.
4. Wrong treatment. Without investigation or helpful human
touch, action ts taken in utter and reckless disregard for actual condi-
tions or consequences* This all charity workers will understand.
5. Local politicians are encouraged to play petty politics and
secure help for local supporters. This leads to much graft.
6. Overseers when appointed are left to handle the cases according
to their own judgment or lack of judgment and numerous cases occur
where no responsibility was assumed at all, and also other cases where
the guardians made a positive profit from their positions as trustees for
numerous clients, who sometimes trade out their allowances at the guar-
dian's store,
7. Such unscientific relief actually promotes and propagates cer-
tain kinds of degeneracy, such as feeble-minded families and immoral or
even criminal groups. The number of vicious parasites found as
hangers-on J living upon the proceeds of money appropriated for deserving
and unfortunate people, was surprising.
8. Names once on the list of pensioners remained indefinitely. As
no further investigations were made, pensions were continued to people
for ten or a dozen years after all need for assistance had passed.
9. For lack of responsible care and investigation, defective girls,
young children, blind boys and others most susceptible to evil influences
were found to be placed under the most dangerous environments, includ-
ing immoral houses.
10. The woret evil of all was the renting of poor unfortunates
to the lowest bidder with no investigation ever made, and no questions
asked as to how the poor people were cared for or treated.
Ih Passing on of transients from one community to another
simply to get rid of the responsibility was found to be another practice
in practically every county investigated.
The M'ay of Reform
Why cannot charity orj^anhation methods be introduced iniQ rural
pfior relief ahof The social organizations already exist, the methods arc
known, the means of communication and of education of the public to
*Far deicHptton of £a«e« And a fuller statement of principles discussed in this addresSi
the reader h referred to the ftathctr'fi work, Outdoor Relief %n Missourit published by the
JtoMell Sage FcnindatJon.
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252 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
the need of charity organization already exists. The rural case work
should be done in the same way as it has so long been successfully carried
on in the city. Complete case records, and a confidential exchange with
the history of every client should be kept. In the rural districts it is
easier to get this information than in the slums of the crowded city.
Each home should be visited by a trained social worker and exact in-
formation secured as to the causes of poverty and the special needs of
each individual case ascertained. Relief can then be given suited to each,
and constructive helpful methods can be developed* The social life of
each community can be organized around its school or community
churchy and local problems can be studied under the leadership of trained
workers from the town or village. Already the experiment has been
tried of combining the charity work of the town or city and the sur-
rounding county, carrying into the rural work the same scientific meth-
ods so successfully used in our city work. This work has been authorized
by law in North Carolina, and started in Michigan and in Los Angeles,
California, and at half a dozen points in Iowa.
Perhaps the most interesring experiment is that at Grinncll, low^a,
which has been in operation since 1912 and which has been mentioned in
this and former meetings of the National Conference. The Iowa plan
is simply this, to secure the appointment of a trained charity organization
secretary for the organization of the charity work of the city or town;
then to have this same person appointed overseer of the poor of the
county. Local charity societies may be organized in the larger towns of
the county and can carry on their work with the advice and help of the
charity organization secretary. Thus it may be possible to vi^it each of
the few homes where relief is actually needed throughout the rural dis-
tricts, records can be kept, facts can be found out, and relief given of the
exact kind and character needed in each particular case. The trained
charity w^orker can also establish many other social agencies in the
county.*
With the gratifying results already obtained at Grinnell, Ottumwa
and other places named, it would seem that no reason exists and no
excuse for the continuance of the clumsy, vicious methods of the past,
which are still found in practically all of the rural districts.
INFORMAL DISCUSSION
Others who participated in this discussion were: Gertrude Vaitc,
Denver; Amy C. Steinhart, Sacramento; Edward F. Lynde, Grand
Rapids^ Mich.; James O. White, Cincinnati j Elizabeth Butcher, Beloit,
Wis.; James F. Bagley, Augusta, Me.: Amos W. Butler, Indianapolis.
*Sce Pfifcecdinps N. C, S, W„ 1917, pp. U^.l.
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JAIL ADMINISTRATIOK— TRACV 353
REFORM OF JAIL ADMINISTRATION IN VERMONT
Frank H. Tracy, Sheriff of IVmhington County, Montpdierj, Vermont
No question confronts the American people of more importance
than that of treatment of the delinquent* Some have committed crimes
which are appalling, but the large majortty of offenses are of minor
character. The world has, and always will have, some who, on
account of the seriousness of their crimes, will have to be kept in con-
finement This the public demands and has a right to expect But
there still remains that much larger class who should not be subject
to the same rules, and should not be compelled to assocfate with those
who commit crimes of a more serious nature. For this class, men who
have had the care of them, and who have had both the welfare of
society and that of the prisoner at heart, have in the last few years
found a better way*
I have seen a boy whose only offense was a second one of intoxi-
catioOj handcuffed to a man with a record, transported across the state
in this manner and compelled to spend his time durini; his confinement
in his company. Through the efforts of a very few men this has largely
been changed* Those who are entitled to this credit are such men as
Governor West of Oregon, Warden Gilmour of Ontario, Tom Tynan
of Colorado and William Homer of Great Meadow Prison, New York.
When these men started this reform almost everybody felt that prisoners
could not be trusted, and the work had to be done against public
opinion. It is easy now, and why? Because people have come to learn
that criminals are human beings; that it is better to lift one up than
to push him down. They have seen that want, privation, — almost
starvation, have come to the families of these men, and that the disgrace
for the family was as great as for the men. The old Mosaic law^ *'An
eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth," has been discarded. Officers'
of the law are responsible, as to whether the men committed leave their
care better or worse than when committed. Many a man is serving
sentence today who, had someone stood his friend, put his hand on his
shoulder and said, "Come on, old man," might have been saved.
Among the institutions that have been cnticized the most is the
county Jail, and for this I am to attempt to speak. The jailor has no
motive or incentive to work along the lines adopted in the larger in-
stitutions. He is paid for the board of those committed and nothing
more. For the last eighteen years I have had the care of a county
jail carrying from thirty to seventy prisoners* Eight years we were
under an old law, under which the men were not allowed to work.
Their time was spent in idleness. They went from their terms of im-
prisonment w^orse mentally and physically than when committed.
In the year 1906 the legislature of Vermont passed the prison
labor law J as follows:
Section 1. "A male prisoner imprisoned in si county Jail for being found
tutojcicntcd, for a breach of iht peace* or far being a tramp may be required to
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254 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
perform not more than ten hours of manual labor within or without the walls of
said county jail each day except Sundays, or legal holidavs.
Sec. 2. "The labor to be performed shall be classified and fixed from Ume to
time by the prison board hereinafter created in and for each county and to b«
constituted as hereinafter provided and shall be subject to such rutes and reeu-
lations as are adopted by said board to secure humane treatment of s^id prisoDcra
and provide employment within or without the walls of such county m\[.
Sec. 8. 'The Assistant Judges of the County Court, the Sbcrifl, and
County Supervisor of highways shall compose said prison board. ^ *
Sec. 4. "Said board within its respective counties and subject La the rules
and regulations to be established under the provisions of section two of thii a^ct
and under such control and mana^ment as shall be therein and thereafter pro-
vided shall have authority to require and compel said prisoners to work on the
public highways within their respective counties.
Sec. 6. "Said board is hereby authorized to expend such sum out oE the
public money in the treasury of its county as is required for the purchase ol
material and tools adapted to the work hereinafter provided.
Sec. 6. "Said board shall have authority to employ such deputies or other
officers as shall be required for the supervision, safe keeping ana gcod conduct
of said prisoners while employed within or without the walls of saio county jail
and the compensation of such officers ox deputies shall be fixed by said board not
to exceed two dollars per day for said services." (And I might add that wc have
never paid out one dollar for such supervision, although at times I have had as
many as twentv-five men working at least fifteen different places.)
Sec. 7. "If a prisoner while employed as aforesaid without the walls of a
county jail makes his escape, such prisoner shall be deemed guilty of connnitting
a prison breach and shall be subject to like penalties as are now provided by Uw
for prison breach.
Sec 8. "Imprisonments for a breach of the peace for a permd of not ex-
ceeding three months and all imprisonments for being found intoxicated or for
being a tramp shall be in the county where the offense was comiTiitt<:d, the pro-
ceeds of such labor, if any, shall be applied in payment of materials An J toob
furnished as aforesaid and the balance, if any, shall be turned over to tbc State
Treasurer."
This law took eflFect January 1st, 1907. The legislatiirt^ of 1908
passed the following law:
"Whenever a person is convicted of a crime not a felony which may he pun-
ished b^ imprisonment and a sentence of imprisonment either primary or alterna-
tive is imposed if the minimum term of imprisonment shall not exceed nnu year
the sentence shall be that the respondent be confined at hard labor far the tcrni of
the sentence in the county jail where the offense was committed."
From that time conditions have changed. We have employed
outside without guards over thirty-five hundred men, scattered over an
•area ten miles wide, going and coming like common workmen, wearing
ordinary clothes; and during these years we have lost but two men.
We have paid men and their families over twelve thousajid dollars,
paid to the state about ten thousand dollars, and have bought with
state money hundreds of dollars worth of clothing.
This has been done simply on the honor system ; the men lock and
unlock themselves more frequently than does the jailor, himself. Two
little cards have been used to which we attribute some of our success,
one of which reads like this:
MY FRIEND— For a little while you and I are compelled
to live under the same roof, and, in a way, to be in each
other's company. You came without an invitation from me.
Probably you had no intention that we should meet in thia
way. During your stay your treatment will largely depend
on your behavior. Probably you have made a mistake, per-
haps done wrong. I have done both, most all have. Let us
both, the little while we are toeether, try and do as we would
be done by. Should we both do this, I am sure we can part
with respect for each other. My earnest wish is that I itiay
be a better man for having known you and that you may be
none the worse for having met me.
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JAIL ADMINISTR/VTION — DISCUSSIOJJ tS$
The other is a pledge card :
MONTP]?LIOH, VtM ,,..*,...*..., .101 . . .
I hereby freely and vQlunlarily promise and agree that,
while I am a prisoner cani^itcd in the Washmgton County
JaiU or employed as a prisoner autside the walls^ t will ab-
stain from the use of intoxicating liquors of every kind and
character; that I will not pUy cards for money or for any ^
article oi vatne; that I wilt, break none of the laws of the
State J that I will not violate any of the rules of the jail;
and that I will at all times conduct myself as a gentleman.
Of these we have over one thousand signed that we know have
never been broken.
Books might be filled with the experiences of men who are trying
the honor system, I have had my share of them, some of them too
sacred to be put in print. The prisons and jails of this country have
tried for a century the idea of man-breakin^: now let us try the new
principle of man- making.
Some day we shall all stand before the court where no mistakes
are made. Shall it be said of us: "I was in prison and ye visited me
not?"
"Just stand aside and watch yourself go by;
Think of yourself as 'he* instead of '1/
Not closely as in other men you note,
The ba£f-kneed trousers and the seedy coat:
Pick Raws ; find f ault j forget the man is you,
And strive to make your estimate ring truCt
Comfort yourself and look you in the eye^
Just stand aside and watch yourself go by."
INFORMAL DISCUSSION
1, Dr, Hastintis H. I fart, director, flepartment of child helping,
of the Russell Sage Foundation. Nevv York, in presidinjcr said substan-
tially; Jail conditions are complicated because of twofold use. It is
a place of detention of persons waiting trjaU held as witnesses, or de-
tained pending grand jury inquiry. It is used also for imprisonment
of misdemeanants. There is frequently a lack of classification of pris-
oners. The supervision is often hy a jailor who secures his appointment
because be is a political ward heeler. There is only one satisfactory
basis for classification and that is that each prisoner be in a cJass by
himself. This is not only humane, but wise. The jail ought to be the
best reformatory institution in the community.
2, The exhibit prepared for the discussions of this section hy Dr
Hart was then made the subject of examination and criticism by dele-
gates present. Jail construction, principles of administration, reform-
atory methods, the indeterminate sentence and other features were dis-
cussed informally,
3. Afterward the address by Sheriff Tracy of Vermont, which is
reproduced on the preceding pages, was given,
4. James I\ BagUy, secretary of the State Board of Charities and
Corrections of Maitie, reported that two sheriffs of his state were doing
work similar to that of Sheriff Tracy: Charles E. Dunn, Houlton, sheriff
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256 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
of Aroostook county; and John H. Weymouth Dover, deputy shcrtlfr
Piscataquis county.
5. L^/iiV Adams Fulton, secretary of the State Board of Charities
and Corrections of Colorado, Denver, said: We have had an exactly
similar experience in Colorado in connection with our State Reforma-
tory. Our present warden, Mr. M. P. Capp, was certified and appointed
from the civil service eligible list in' 1914, and one of the very first re-
forms he instituted was allowing boys to go outside the walls of the
reformatory on parole without any supervision whatever, excepting that
of their employers, to work for wages on the neighboring farms. These
wages nil went to the boys themselves, sometimes going to the support
of their mothers or wives and babies, as many of these boys arc
married, and sometimes the money is kept until the boy leaves the
institution and is given to him then for his own personal use.
In the Fall of 1914 the party that came into power m Colorado
was of the opposite political faith of Mr. Capp and the attempt was
made to oust him, along with a number of other institution heads, lo
make room for "patronage." One of the charges brought against Mr
Capp before the civil service commission was that he had violated the
laws of the state in permitting the boys to go outside the walls of the
institution without supervision. Whether he violated the law or not,
the system worked so admirably that he was sustained in every instance
and is still warden of the State Reforriiatory.
During three years of this system not one boy ever escaped or
attempted to escape while working on his own honor away from the
mstitution. Last year the boys earned $7,500 for themselves while
employed on other people's farms and also produced about $30,000
worth of farm products on the lands owned or leased by the institution.
Altogether the boys have earned $15,000 — or more^which has gone to
support their families or themselves after leaving the institution, and
at the same time saved the state the expense of their maintenance.
Farm labor in this time of war is of great value to our country*
This year already over 80 per cent of the boys are at work outside the
walls of the institution, either as trustees, wholly unguarded^ or semt-
trusties, being accompanied by an overseer.^a! though there is no law
permitting it
6. /. M. Hanson, general secretary, Community Service Society,
Voungstown, Ohio, explained how the municipal lodging house coii-
flucted by his organization with the cooperation of city officials was
dealing successfully with vagrants and other misdemeanants, including
men convicted on charges of non-support. Under the parole laws of
the stale they choose to work for the railways trucking freight, under
guard, at regular wages in lieu of a jail or workhouse sentence for a
longer period. One dollar a day is deducted for maintainencc and the
balance is paid to the men upon their release. In case the man has a
family dependent upon him, his wages are paid lo the family through
the municipal court. This scheme is fully self-susiaining and much
labor is supplied to the community from this class of men, who are
ordinarily an expense and a burden to the community.
7. Amoj W, Butler, secretary, Board of State Charities, Indian-
apolis, emphasized that jails in small communities should be of simple
construction and easiest of administration, fie explained how the In-
diana Stale Farm at Putnamvillc came about and the results. These
showed bow the farm helped the prisoners and how it had contributed
to a decided lessening in the jail population.
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ALMSHOUSE ^UJMINISTR/VTION — m'kINNISS 257
8. Others who participated in the informal discussion were: H. H.
Shirer, Columbus, Ohio; F. E. Broyles, Columbia^ S. Cj Charles R.
Johnson, Worcester, Mass.; William J. Ahcrn, Concord, N. H.j Calvin
Derrick, New York; ProL Franklin Johnson, Toronto; J. L. Wagner;
Jefferson City, Mo.
STANDARDS OF ADMINISTRATION OF THE
ALMSHOUSE
Clyde R* McKinnlss^ M. D., Superintendent ^ Pittsburgh City Home and
Hospitals
The social reconstruction through which the greater part of the
world fs passing today is presenting many problems for solution. In
glancing over the program of the forty-fifth conference of this organiza-
tion, and listening to the addresses we have heard and the discussion they
bring forth, we are profoundly impressed with the magnitude of the
work the members of this Conference will be called upon to do within
the next few years.
The w^orld today seems much smaller than it did a short four years
ago, when distance secnied to separate us from the other large nations,
but rapidity of travel and communication have almost eliminated distance^
and the common principles of the rights of others, for which we have
always stood, have drawn us closer to those nations who are sacrificing
all, that those same principles may endure. While this great conflict is
going on and after the sacrifices have been rewarded, we shall all be called
upon to exert our utmost efforts to improve and preserve our social fabric.
The di fife rent public agencies represented here have already commenced
to feel the tugging of increasing needs, and this'will continue to increase
for some time to come.
Daily we are told to give, to save and to produce. To give our time,
money, energy and the lives of our men and women. To save foods,
clothing and daylight. To produce everything we can that will assist us
in attaining success in the present struggle. Our whole life, industrial
and social, has been speeded up so much to meet present conditions that
changes in methods and standards of eflBciency have taken place in many
lines. Those of us interested in charitable work are daily facing greater
demands for assistance with a full realization of limited resources, and
to keep our standard of almshouse administration at the proper level we
must make these resources meet the demands.
The giving of alms, or almshouse care^ has long been looked upon as
a rather unpleasant, though necessary^ duty of society to the needy. When
this duty has been perfunctorily discharged, we are prone to lose interest
as to the standard of care, but the broad views on the many phases of
race betterment, as expressed at this Conference, indicate that men and
women are awake to the great need at this time of a nation-wide move-
ment to insure the continued progress of our count r\% Every one of us
has our part to play and the degree of efficiency with which w^e play our
part will measure the value of the work.
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258 PUBLIC AGBNCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
The administration of the almshouse has no little part in charitable
efforts of a community and the standards should be as high as it is possi-
ble for each community to maintain. Will Carleton's graphic word pic-
ture of the neglect and poverty of old age in Over the Hills to the Poor
House could not be possible in the present decade, T feel confident his
dear "old woman of seventy" would never have "trudged over the hill to
the poor house," Instead, our modern investigator or social worker would
have intervievt'ed Charley^ Susan, Thomas and Rebecca and the family
would have been rehabilitated. The well qualified investigator is one of
the most beneficial adjuncts to almshouse administration especially in
thickly populated poor districts where a floating population requires more
than casual observation of those asking aid. Every application should, in
justice to the taxpayer, be carefully investigated as to legal residence,
worthiness of applicant and the ability of relatives to assume the responsi-
bility of his care; but when this investigation is completed and the inmate
accepted, the responsibility of his care rests upon the institution^ which is
accountable to the community which it represents. The institution
should have a co-operating organization unhampered by the undesirable
type of local politics. It is only occasionally that almshouses are called
upon to care for any number of able bodied persons, as was seen in the
Pittsburgh district during the winter of 1914-15, due to the great indus-
trial depression, but the majority of almshouse inmates must be classed
with those who are not able^ alone, to meet the complex problems of life.
Their inability may be due to many causes, but a close study will show
that more applications for admissions are the result of medical needs
than of poverty. These conditions^ we believe, will be found generally
uniform over the country but, for example, let me quote a few statistics
from the admissions to the Pittsburgh City Home and Hospitals for the
first three months of this year, four hundred and twenty- four men and
seventy-eight women, a total of fwc^ hundred and two, were admitted
during January, February ant! March of this year. The conditions which
caused the admissions were as follows:
12^ No home, dcEcrted, crippled or paralyzed.
14S Pulsnonary disorders (tubfrculosi^ B5, pneumonia etc.)
Ih Card ia- vascular diittaBtfi.
9& Infccttotifi (mcluding ventrea], skin and gland infections).
03 N^rvou.5 and men tat conditions, mcludinjif alcoholism, morphinism, feeble^
mindcdneas, epilepsy.
&B Other medical disorder!.
60A Total,
A Mood examination was made in 1+6 inmates of those admitted
and positive (Wasserman) findings for luetic infection were found in
fifty- five and negative in ninety-one. We have frequently had come to
us those unable to pay for treatment for venereal disease, asking relief , as
they were unable to receive this treatment elsewhere.
7 he Almshouse and the Conimunhy
A recent study of The Ne^ro Migrant in Pittsburgh by Abraham
Epstein shows that the Negro race alone has increased the population in
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ALMSHOUSE ADMINISTRATION — m'kINNIS 259
the Pittsburgh district of Allegheny county, Pa., by over 18,500 in less
than three years. This has been due to the great need for common labor
and as the European labor markets are closed the Negro was called upon
to fill the demand. With this great influx of a people accustomed to a
mild climate and open air life of the South, into the somewhat rigid win-
ter and cramped housing conditions of our city, there necessarily came to
the almshouse and hospital the responsibility of caring for the newcomers
who needed care and treatment.
These conditions have been cited to sustain a firm belief, which has
been reached after considerable effort to solve the almshouse problem of
administration. The present conception of the poorhouse or almshouse
is inadequate to meet the pressing needs of those whom fortune has forced
to seek its shelter. We should take a broader view of our responsibility
in the matter, so that the efforts in a community need not mean simply a
home in which to sleep and food to eat but a hospital-home, — a center
from which may radiate the efforts for improvement of the poor for the
district in which it is located, and carrying with it no more stigma than
the dispensing of free milk and ice to babies.
The splendid opportunity in a community is often grasped, of mak-
ing the almshouse farm, grounds or stock a standard from which the
neighbors may learn and copy with satisfaction and profit to themselves
and the whole community, a show place to exhibit the activities of which
they arc justly proud; a place where the farm agent can get together the
farmers and give practical demonstrations of the various problems of
farming and stock husbandry. Then why not do as much for the inmate
for whose care and treatment the whole organization is planned ?
Why not make the house-keeping a model of cleanliness and eco-
nomic management from which the most exacting housewife may copy?
The arrangement of the dietary is of great importance at this time when
foods are almost the balancing power in the world war, so that it is highly
necessary that the institution farm should be made to produce as much as
possible those things of high food value, and it has been our observation
that the food producer is meeting this responsibility in the proper spirit.
In the institution which I have the privilege to represent here, our farmer
was able to increase the farm output from $38,068.14 in 1916 to
$67,641.56 in 1917. Some of this increase can be accounted by the in-
crease in market prices and some by a good season generally for farming,
but the principal reason is a well worked out plan of farm management
to produce definite ends.
The Food Question
Our efforts must not end here, but these foods must be collected
without waste and reach the table well prepared and in the proper quan-
tities. This necessitates the working out of a dietary, giving due consid-
eration to the class of people to be fed and the food values of the portions
furnished. To illustrate this, our menu for the week * of April 29th,
1918, is offered, which shows the foods furnished at each meel, the quan-
*Three days, only, selected for publication.
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260
PUBLIC AGENCIES AMD INSTITUTlQMfe
tity to each inmate in the home dining-room, the caloric value of the food
and the cost per capita. There is also shown in ounces the amount of
waste per capita, which represents the unusable food returned from the
table as scraps, A little careful management has enabled us to matcriaUy
reduce the item of waste.
FEMALE HOME— APRIL 89^ IBIS— POPULATION d»
Ouncei Calories Waste
Per Capita Pet Capita
148.0«» ...„
6».67ia ,1731
ZilMb5
268. 43 S S.GIl
81.B71 1.077
1MM& ,, ,„
MENU— Per Capita
Br«ad a.44Si
Rolled Oatt 1.B16
Barley .00S1
Corn Beef 4,QS$
Parmipi ...,,.14.045
Potutoei , , 4309
Pnin«« , S.164t
Coffett p.
Total.
1676.743U
MALE HOME— APRIL 89, I9ia— POPULATION aiB
OtiTiCes
MENU— Per Capita
Bread , .14AB
Rolled Data ,,, 918
Baric? t97
Cam Bctf 4.048
Paranipa 13.848
Potatoc* ............. 4.043
FruAca LStS
Coffee ^ , . . , ,
Calories
Per Captta
1088.«X
lOS.flfl
70.118
842.050
194.08
78.91
96.07
Waite
Per Capita
.699
ilia
.08
ToUl.
198L697
FEMALE HOME^MAY'S, 1918— POPULATION 97
Ouncea
MENU— Per Capita
Bread 8.677
Rolled Oati ., 1.349
Fill] 6.108
FiEi ., 1.648
Peaches ............. .368
Coilce ,
Calories
Per Capita .
6896U
161.109
206.341
188.830
86.959
Waste
Per Capita
.496
Total.
1161,750
MALE HOME— MAY 8,191 8— POPULATION filfl
Per Capita Per Capita Per Capita
MENU—
Ounces
Bread ...14.181
Rolled Oats ..,. 964
Flab 8.441
Figi ..,..,,. oa6
Peoefaei ............. .S31
Coffee
Calories
1069. 00&
108. &40
188. 32 B
88.146
28.084
Waate
£.05
Total .
1405.doa
FEMALE HOME— MAY 4, 1»1 a— POPULATION 90
Ounces
MENU— P«?r Capita
Bread 8.68
Oatmea! 1.889
Beef 4.861
Ho[aiii3r t.880
Potatoes 4.861
Peacfaee ft.OO
ColTee
CaTories
Per Capita
635.644
166,457
486.800
289,86
92.359
191.9
Waate
Per Capita
.883
Total.
1771,219
Cost
Per Capita
10.01296
.00434
.00944
.08468
.(KH71
.01884
.00178
90.09998
Cast
Per Capita
(0.08880
,00191
.01481
.0064 S
.00118
.00149
fO.lOOOT
Cost
Per Capiti
10.02331
.OOtU
.08690
.01018
,00100
.00171
f0.0TS98
Per Capita
Cost
10.08085
.00310
.09410
.00621
.00180
.00140
$0.07628
Cost
Per Capita
10.02155
.00460
.06918
-oom
.0004$
.01681
.00170
10.11184
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ALMSHOUSE ADMINISTRATION — M^KINNISS 261
MALE HOME— MAY I, iai8^P0PULATI0N ilfl
Ounces
MENU— Per Capiti
Brcait 11.15
Oatmeal ...,......,>, .018
Beef 4.0i8
Homiliy *,,.,,* 3-lflS
Patatoca ; . 4,018
PeachcB 1.90a
Coffee . .....
Ca1ori«a
Wast*
Coit
Per Capita
Per Caprta
Per CapiU
1033.fil
1.48
IQ.oflsao
lOOflfl
,OOft0t
S6G.01
,D49flO
»ir.9S
.imof
76.91
.00A4A
lie.07»
,M149
IBOG.Sia
$oaiisfi
TotaJ,
The time has not arriveti when we are placed on a definite food allow*
ance and we sincerely hope it will not be necessary for such order to be
issued, but we must realize that this matter rests to a great extent with
ourselves and depends upon our voluntary efforts of food conservation.
We have found the making of a yearly budget covering all supplies to be
of great help, especially in the matter of foods, and each month to check
up the budget estimate vi^ith the foods furnished at the current prices,
This furnishes us daily the per capita food cost, as well as to keep us in
close touch with the institution finances.
Some criticism has been made of the budget system as being based
only on guess work or approximate estimates and, while this is true to
some extent, the estimates are based on a fairly definite consumption and
staple articles can be contracted for in sufficient quantities to cover a
period of several months. The veiy unsatisfactory shipping conditions
of the past winter will convince U5 all the more of the necessity of mak-
ing provision during the summer for the coming winter, when the ship-
ping facilities will again be overtaxed.
Conclusion
The almshouse management should co-operate as much as po^ible
with other agencies in charitable work, and by the intelligent co-ordina*
tion of local efforts along this line many things may be accomplished that
would otherwise be impossible*
If we should try to sum up in a few words what we have taken some
time to say regarding standards of almshouse administration, it would be
to urge an efficient business management » as would be required in any suc-
cessful enterprise with a similar capital invested, and with that an eflfort
to solve the problem the inmate brings to us, by caring for his immediate
wants as to food^ clothing, housing and medical care, and, what seems
even more important, to get at the known causes which make the alms-
house necessary, such as feeble-mindedness, alcoholism and venereal infec-
tion, and attempt to decrease, if not to stop, the '^trudging over the hill
to the poorhouse/*
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262 PUBLIC AGENCIES AND INSTITUTIONS
STANDARDS OF ADMINISTRATION OF ALMSHOUSES
OR HOSPITAL HOMES
£), L. Edson, Agent, Siaie Board of Charities and Corrections, Jefferson
City, Missouri
Less than two years aj^o ft was my privilege to visit more than 90 per
cent of Missouri'^ alm.shouscs. By comparing conditions as I found them
in this state, with those as oiith'ncd in the reports from other states, I
conclude that Missouri ranks neither first nor last in her almshouse
standards.
We are like most states in that the county is the unit to which the
poverty stricken must go for care, unless such county contains a large
city; in such cases the municipalities bear a part in the administration of
poor relief-
County System Defective
In this state of 115 counties we have 97 county almshouses accommo-
dating—or otherwise — a few more than three thousand paupers. Dur-
ing the many weary drives and tiresome wafts while inspecting these insti-
tutions, time for reflecting has many times brought the question, "Is this
the way to deal with the problem of poverty?" And the answer ever
came quickly and emphatically, "A^o/' There are^ several reasons that
may be pointed out to show that we are not approaching a solution of
poverty in counties which are principally rural. In the first place, there
is a striking lack of uniformity of these 97 almshouses. It is possible for
97 different policies to be employed, because the county court in each
case is the directing and administering agent* In other words, 300 dif-
ferent men burdened with the detailed cares of the counti^^ many activi-
ties, are called upon to pause in the midst of discussion of roads, public
buildings, and "taking care of the boys,*' to decide how best to meet this
problem of pauperism. While it is possible to have many different poli-
cies, one seems to be a favorite, namely, to wait until the pauper is down
and out, demanding immediate aid and then to do the easiest thing*
The prevailing policy seems to show always a lack of any effort to
decrease pauperism by the application of any scientific principles- There
is one easy thing to do; Give iood va^rylng in all degrees of quality and
quantity, clothe them extremely welt or in as few old rags as their con-
science will permit, bed them on excellent hospital beds or on nothing
but piles of straw, house them in institutions elaborate and expensive, im-
posing and beautiful, or lodge them in old shacks, log built, chinked and
dobbed with mud, reeking with vile filth and alive with vermin. This is
the wide ranjie of conditions that prev^ail.
Sanitation by this tountj' system is a variable quantity* Some insti-
tutions are so located that they may avail themselves of city light and
water and sewage disposal \ others located in the country sometimes have
their own modern heating, light and water facilities. But equipment
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COUNTY HOSPITALS — EDSON 26J'
alone does not make sanitation. I have found more sanitarj^ conditions
in almshouses built of logs, floored with rough boards, using straw beds,
than T have found in some of the expensive institutions with every con-
venience for sanitation.
Another glaring lack in this county system is any intelligent effort
to segregate or classify the inmates. In many instances negroes of both
sexes mingle with white men and women and children sandwiched in.
One classification should be by sexes. In a few instances I have seen the
awful results from this unrestricted, unsupervised mingling of the sexes
in the almshouses. Mentality should be another consideration in classi-
fying the inmates; while for the most part the almshouse is the junk heap
of society, yet we find often worthy poor of good mentality who have to
seek protection in the almshouse. Again, classifications should be along
the hnes of health. Those of you familiar with almshouse conditions
have seen the tubercular and cancerous placed in the same ward, many
times in the same bed, with one of sound body.
Do not think that these conditions are typical. Far from it. But
these conditions do exist all too frequently, and because it is possible for
them to exist we should consider some way to make them impossible, and
to advance toward an ultimate goal where we can feel that we are solv-
ing the problem of poverty-care.
Centralization Advocated
Some states are attempting to set up standards through supervising
agenci<^, and some claim to have made considerable progress* But I be*
lieve they will acknowledge that it has been a long, hard fight to attain
even a little progress, and that they will also acknowledge that they are
dissatisfied with the progress made, and hopeless of achieving a standardi-
zation equaling in any way their ideal.
Two years ago one would have been the object of derision had he
dared suggest the proposition that the county almshouse should be dis-
pensed with. But this has pointed the way for efficiency and given us a
mental attitude whereby we are not only willing to tolerate centraliza-
tion, but we are demanding it in the conduct of all agencies and forces,
where efficiency is expected. With pauperism the same principle holds.
While the public mind is willing to accept centralization, I believe we
should avail ourselves of the opportunity in the field of pauper care.
To begin with, let us, as far as possible, dispense with the present
day almshouse in name and in practice. In its stead, build a hospital-
home, to accommodate the poverty stricken ones from i group of counties,
the county grouping to be made with the ideas of accessibility^ to counties
included in the district and of having a large enough number of paupers
to warrant the employment of sufficient force to care for and direct the
institution. Instead of making the place a retreat, let us make it a home.
Fcrt: Missouri, having more than 3,000 paupers, I believe that four insti*
tutions, properly distributed might care for our paupers at less expense
and with far greater efficiency than is done at the present time. In the
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264 PUBLIC AGEKCIHS AND INSTITUTIONS
first placCj the institution should be under a board or commission whose
main consideration is to sec to the proper management of these institu-
tions. These large institutions should be better located, planned and con-
structed to meet the conditions which they are supposed to fulfill. They
should be supported by state funds or by some such plan as that by which
the insane arc now cared for* Multiplication of institutions in all coun-
ties is not only expensive, but extravagant and inefficient.
Economy and Opportunity
In this state as much as $60,000 is expended for superintendents' sal-
aries annually, when $20,000 would employ four superintendents, who
should be specialists. Under this plan the main consideration would be
proper care of paupers, and not how to make the most money operating
the county farm. Attendants should be employed for a specific purpose,
one for which they are qualified, and not because of a political pulK
This larger institution would admit of a careful classification of in-
mates; of a grouping of those of similar personalities and inclination,* of a
segregation of those a menace to the peace of mind and health of body of
others. We can even conceive of an institution of this kind employing a
dietitian to prepare food more palatable and no less expensive than white
salt bacon and other equally difficult foods to digest, which are a com-
mon item on almshouse tables.
Another feature embodied in this larger institution should be em-
ployment, planned, graded, and adapted to those able to work. Instead
of having the idle, dissatisfied, fussing and scolding inmates we now have,
a large number might be employed for their ow 
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